It would be an understatement to say that this season has already been a roller coaster for Manchester United fans.
The team started the campaign with a respectable win over Fulham, but cratering form in the Premier League and Europa League eventually saw Erik ten Hag relieved of his duties in the dugout.
Former Red Devil Ruud van Nistelrooy is in temporary charge, but it’s the highly-rated Ruben Amorim who will have the task of delivering glory to the Old Trafford faithful once more.
However, to do that, he’ll likely want and need to make several changes and additions to the first-team squad, and recent reports have linked the club to a striker who could be his new Viktor Gyokeres, and big trouble for summer signing Joshua Zirkzee.
Manchester United transfer news
According to a recent report out of Spain, Manchester United are one of several ‘European giants’ interested in FC Porto star Samu Omorodion.
The story claims that following his sensational form for the Portuguese giants this season and the sky-high potential many believe him to have, the former Chelsea target has become a player of particular interest to the Red Devils.
However, there are two significant obstacles to completing this signing: Paris Saint-Germain’s interest and the striker’s lofty release clause, which stands at around €100m, which is about £84m.
It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but if Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co can find a way to lower the asking price, then Omorodion would be an excellent signing and could develop into Amorim’s new Gyokeres.
The Zirkzee upgrade who could be Amorim's new Gyokeres
So, before we get to how Omorodion compares to one of his potential rivals at United, Zirkzee, let’s examine his similarities to Gyokeres, starting with the biggest: where he plays.
Yes, like the Swedish powerhouse, the former Atlético Madrid prospect is currently plying his trade in Portugal’s top flight, and he’s doing so with almost as much success as the former Coventry City star, currently sitting two behind him in the league’s goalscoring charts.
Their two other similarities are that they’re both right-footed marksmen and come in at over 6 foot, with the Sporting star measuring 6 foot 2 and the Porto poacher a mammoth 6 foot 4, which should help him adapt to the physical nature of the Premier League.
With all that said, how does he stack up to the Red Devils Dutch summer signing? If he moves to Old Trafford in 2025, he’ll have to compete with the former Bologna star to establish himself as Rasmus Hojlund’s main rival for a place in the starting lineup.
Well, when it comes to output, the most important metric for a number nine, the Spanish “monster”, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is the clear winner, racking up 11 goals in 11 games this year, compared to one goal and two assists in 15 matches for the Schiedam-born forward.
What about their underlying numbers? Is it just as one-sided when we take a look under the hood? Unfortunately for the former Bayern Munich prospect, it is.
For example, aside from shot-creating actions and progressive passes, Porto’s goalscoring “beast”, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, comes out ahead in every relevant metric, including non-penalty expected goals plus assists, actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes received, shots and shots on target, goal-creating actions and aerial duels, all per 90.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.85
0.62
Actual Non-Penalty Goals + Assists
1.54
0.53
Progressive Passes
1.25
2.70
Progressive Passes Received
4.86
3.97
Shots
3.91
2.46
Shots on Target
1.96
1.07
Shot-Creating Actions
2.66
3.02
Goal-Creating Actions
0.42
0.32
Aerial Duels Won
2.64
1.90
Ultimately, Omorodion looks like he could develop into an elite centre-forward, and if United can convince Porto to accept a lower fee, then they should do what they can to bring him to Old Trafford, even if it could spell the end for Zirkzee.
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