Manchester United

Manchester United

Premier League • England

Paul Scholes identifies perfect Cristiano Ronaldo replacement for Man Utd in unstoppable World Cup star

Ben Stewart
Paul Scholes working for BT Sport

Paul Scholes has delivered his verdict on who Manchester United should go after in the January window as a Cristiano Ronaldo replacement.

It is no secret that Man Utd are now in the market for another forward following Ronaldo’s recent departure. Erik ten Hag’s forward options currently consist of just Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

While Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t Ten Hag’s first choice, he did offer United a different dynamic in the final third which they are now lacking.

Ten Hag’s side have only scored 20 goals in the Premier League so far at an average of just 1.42 goals per game. They are currently projected to score just 54 goals this season.

Chelsea are the only side in the top half of the Premier League who have scored fewer goals than United up until this point.

United legend Scholes has had his say on the striker situation and identified the perfect Ronaldo replacement.

Scholes told MUTV’s The Debate: “I think there’s a couple of forwards they might look at.

“We have Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford who can both play there, but I think Marcus prefers being out wide and Antony’s injury record isn’t great.

“January might be too soon [to replace Ronaldo], they’re probably looking at next summer now, but I do think there are players out there.

“The lad at PSV – Gakpo is doing really well for Netherlands at the World Cup and I think Ten Hag has been really interested in him before.

“There’s players out there for sure. January can be a tough window to do business but I hope we can do something and bring in a new centre forward.”

Cody Gakpo would be ideal 

Given the style of play Ten Hag is keen to adopt at Old Trafford a move for PSV’s Gakpo would make sense.

The Dutch forward has been in fine form for both club and country. He has scored in all three of his World Cup appearances so far in Qatar.

Gakpo emerged as a target for Man Utd some time ago after he has been lighting things up in the Eredivisie for PSV. The 23-year-old has scored 15 goals and got 14 assists across all competitions this season.

Rashford has rekindled his form in recent months although there has been a debate over what his best position actually is.

Earlier in the month Ten Hag was asked about Rashford playing on the right-hand side.

“He can play there, as he can stretch across all the three positions, and he can score goals in each [of them],” explained Ten Hag via the official club website.

”The best position for [Marcus] Rashford is the number nine or coming in from the left.”

Alejandro Garnacho has also emerged as a top talent for Man Utd. He produced a series of promising displays before the international break.

Ten Hag does have a selection of forwards he can currently lean on but the need for another talisman is obvious to see in the United squad.

READ MORE: Seven clubs that have distanced themselves from the Cristiano Ronaldo transfer rumours: Bayern Munich, Napoli…