The striker position is Manchester United's £108million problem.
That's how much the Red Devils have spent trying to solve their attacking issues over the past two years, with neither Rasmus Hojlund nor Joshua Zirkzee cutting the mustard. In all competitions this season, Hojlund has scored seven goals and Zirkzee just five.
German giants Borussia Dortmund have no such problem, with Serhou Guirassy already on 23 for the campaign and leading the scoring charts in the Champions League with 10. His minutes per goal ratio is only marginally bettered by Robert Lewandowski, who sits one goal behind Guirassy and has spearheaded Barcelona's assault on the competition.
We all know the story of how close United were to signing Lewandowski in the summer of 2012 but what's lesser-known is how the Red Devils could've got their hands on Guirassy for just £14million much more recently.
In January 2024, while Erik ten Hag was relying heavily on new signing Hojlund and an injury prone Anthony Martial to lead the line, United had the opportunity to sign Guirassy. At the time, the Guinea international was going neck-and-neck with Harry Kane in the Bundesliga scoring charts, helping Stuttgart go from relegation play-off survivors to Champions League contenders.
The former Koln and Amiens striker, who Stuttgart paid just €9m (£7m) for, was the talk of Germany - but open to leaving. "Everyone knows the Premier League is one of the most competitive leagues in the world but, at this time, I don't close any doors," he revealed.
Guirassy's form at the ripe age of 27 took everyone by surprise, having never been anywhere near as prolific at his previous mid-table clubs in France and Germany. A one-season wonder, cynics claimed.
That's why, according to the Athletic, United chiefs felt that his €17.5m (£14m) release clause wasn't worth paying. But what current boss Ruben Amorim would give for Guirassy's services now, even if he wouldn't be the Red Devils' long-term solution.
After helping Stuttgart secure a stunning second-place finish above Bayern Munich, Dortmund snapped him up last summer and have reaped the rewards, even in an equally dismal season as United have endured. BVB sacked Nuri Sahin in January and have appointed former Bayern Munich manager Nico Kovac, who's getting the best out of Guirassy.
The 28-year-old scored six goals in Kovac's first six games, four of which came in Dortmund's 6-0 trashing of Union Berlin last month. Guirassy's three assists in the Champions League also illustrate how he isn't just a goalscorer.
Dortmund face Lille, one of his former clubs, on Tuesday in the round of 16 and will travel to France for the second leg next Wednesday. Make it through and they'd face Benfica or Barcelona, the latter of which Guirassy scored twice against in December.
United, meanwhile, are stuck competing in the Europa League after finishing eighth domestically last season, but a prolific striker like Guirassy could've fired them up the table - and Ten Hag might still be in charge. Instead, his problem now belongs to Amorim.
kbsarpong
102
it is good he did not go to Manchester United. The English press, pundits, and old players will label him as a flop.
minalzot
42
Look, we can sit here and pretend that a club is missing out on a player just because they’re playing incredibly well with another club. I can promise you that zirkzee, højlund, sancho, Antony, rashford, martial, etc are not busts, but rather were/are stuck with an awfully run club. Every one of these players has seen great success at other clubs and yet every one of them has struggled at Man U. The same happened for Mkhitaryan right when he switched from an incredible year at Dortmund to Man U. These aren’t bad players, United just need to figure out their culture and ownership problems before they think they can buy their way out of their mess. This isn’t an issue of “missing out” on guirassy, because there’s a decent chance he could’ve been a flop at United as well.