Journalist Samuel Luckhurst has claimed that Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is currently ‘looking at’ forwards, amid recent reports linking the club with a move for Goncalo Ramos.
ESPN reported that the club have their sights on the forward following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ramos caught the eyes of many when he bagged a hat-trick for against Switzerland at the World Cup, with Portugal going on to thump them 6-1.
Speaking on the Manchester Evening News’ YouTube channel, Luckhurst claimed that Ten Hag was ‘aware’ of the player from his time managing Ajax having come up against Benfica last season.
He stated: “They are looking at other players, and there are other forwards that Ten Hag likes and has come across. I mean, Goncalo Ramos, before everybody had heard of him, really – Ten Hag was aware of him because he saw him first-hand when Benfica knocked out Ajax in the Champions League last season.”
TIF Thoughts on Luckhurst’s comments…
We believe that Ramos is one to keep an eye on, as he’s been absolutely lethal in front of goal for Benfica so far this season.
He’s netted nine goals in the Portuguese top flight and provided three assists across 11 appearances – for a player who’s only 21, that’s pretty remarkable.
The stats show that in the past year, Ramos is one of the best goalscorers in Europe. When compared to other forwards from Europe’s top competitions, he ranks in the top 5% for non-penalty goals scored (FBref).
However, bringing Ramos to Old Trafford could be very tricky as he has a reported £103m release clause. That doesn’t necessarily mean that Benfica will only agree upon that price, but you would expect that the Portuguese giants won’t let him go for cheap.
We think Ramos is a player that Man United should keep tabs on. He may not justify that whopping release clause as of yet, but he could well do in the near future.