Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag considering signing £35m ex-West Ham flop instead of Harry Kane
The Red Devils’ primary transfer priority this summer is to sign a new striker, since the team has lacked firepower and depth up front this season, and the issue is only set to worsen.
Edinson Cavani, who has only appeared in six Premier League games this season, will go when his contract expires, Anthony Martial might be permanently offloaded after his loan at Sevilla expires, and Mason Greenwood is still suspended.
Meanwhile, despite leading the club in scoring, Marcus Rashford has only scored four times in 24 league appearances, while Cristiano Ronaldo has been chastised for his lack of work rate and front-line pressing.
United had been linked with a move for Tottenham striker Kane in order to rebuild their frontline, but according to The Sun, they will be priced out of a deal, and Ten Hag is instead looking forward to reuniting with Haller.
After struggling at West Ham, the Ivory Coast international transferred to Amsterdam in January 2021, with David Moyes preferring Michail Antonio to the club’s £45 million record signing.
After spending most of his time on the bench for the Hammers and scoring just 14 goals in 54 appearances, he was transferred to Ajax for for £18.8 million – a huge drop from the fee they had paid just 18 months before.
Haller, who previously played in the Eredivisie with Utrecht, has been in red-hot form since his return to the Netherlands, scoring 31 goals in 46 league matches and putting in a strong showing in the Champions League.
The 27-year-old became only the second player in the competition’s history to score in all six group matches as Ajax went undefeated this season. He also became the competition’s fastest player to reach ten goals.
Whereas Tottenham would seek more than £100 million for Kane, a cost of roughly £35 million would suffice to sign Haller, who only has two years left on his contract.
Ten Hag obviously knows Haller well, and the two have a strong rapport despite Ten Hag’s shocking decision to bench his top scorer for Ajax’s 2-1 loss to PSV in the Dutch Cup final earlier this month.
Ten Hag has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for a number of Ajax players, including right winger Antony and versatile young defender Jurrien Timber.
