Manchester United have been handed another problem in a season that has offered little relief. Benjamin \u0160e\u0161ko\u2019s return from a lingering shin injury is now reportedly delayed until January, leaving Joshua Zirkzee as the only natural striker available to the club. That is a grim position for a side already searching for stability.<\/p>\n
\u0160e\u0161ko\u2019s 12-goal debut campaign suggested United may have found a long-term centre forward, even if his injury record has caused concern. But with the 23-year-old sidelined, the winter window looks set to become a key moment for recruitment. The aim would be clear enough: find a forward who can help immediately without shutting down \u0160e\u0161ko\u2019s progress when he is fit again.<\/p>\n
Jean-Philippe Mateta stands out as one option. The Crystal Palace striker is proven in the Premier League, out of contract next summer, and has long been linked with a move away. He finished last season with 16 goals across all competitions and has reached double figures in three successive campaigns. Clinical, physical and familiar with English football, he would bring both goals and competition.<\/p>\n
Endrick is a different case entirely. Real Madrid blocked a loan exit in the summer, but his opportunities have been limited, with just four appearances so far. He spent half of the 2025-26 season on loan with Lyon, where he scored eight goals and provided eight assists in 21 matches. United could view him as a lower-risk, short-term option if Madrid allow another departure.<\/p>\n
Alexander S\u00f8rloth offers another profile. The Atl\u00e9tico Madrid forward has scored 20 or more goals in each of his last three seasons and has twice finished among La Liga\u2019s top four scorers. His previous Premier League spell at Crystal Palace yielded only one goal, but his current scoring record is far stronger.<\/p>\n
Ivan Toney would also merit attention after his inclusion in England\u2019s 2026 World Cup roster and his prolific form with Al Ahli, where he scored 41 goals in 48 appearances in 2025-26. Deniz Undav completes the list after a productive spell with Stuttgart, including 25 goals and 14 assists last season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United may need a January striker after \u0160e\u0161ko’s injury delay leaves Zirkzee as their only orthodox option.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1083],"tags":[1836,59,182],"class_list":["post-22123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-man-utd","tag-2026-27-premier-league","tag-featured","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22123","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22123"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22123\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22123"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22123"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22123"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}