Manchester United's 2024/25 Premier League campaign exposed a major weakness in front of goal: the club managed just 44 goals in the league that season, one of the lowest totals in the division, as United finished a disappointing 15th.

United's striker options in Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Højlund struggled in front of goal, managing just seven goals between them that season, as Bruno Fernandes and Amad led the goal-scoring charts with eight goals each.

Last summer, the club went all out to address their goal-scoring struggles, investing approximately £206.5 million in three major attacking additions: Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Šeško.

The decision quickly paid dividends. All three newcomers enjoyed impressive debut Premier League campaigns, each reaching double figures in goals. Šeško’s improvement was particularly notable, considering his early struggles for consistency under Rúben Amorim.

After the turn of the year, the striker found his rhythm, scoring nine times in just 16 appearances before an injury brought his season to an early end and kept him out of United’s final three matches.

Despite performing well at times at United and during pre-season, Joshua Zirkzee simply isn't cut out to be an out-and-out number nine, leaving Šeško as the only established number nine at the club.

While striker depth is probably needed even without selling Zirkzee, if the club do decide to let the 25-year-old leave this summer amid interest from Serie A, then it suddenly becomes a transfer priority of utmost importance.

As reported by CaughtOffside, Manchester United have discussed a potential move for Freiburg forward Igor Matanović after an impressive season in Germany.

The 23-year-old has also attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur, so negotiations could become difficult if United decide to proceed with the deal.

United and Tottenham could both offload strikers who have struggled in Zirkzee and Richarlison, respectively, and the deal for the Croatian forward would most likely depend on whether either side is able to offload their out-of-favour forwards.

There is no doubt that Šeško was an overwhelming success last season and is set for an even better campaign after a year of adaptation to life in the Premier League, but he can't do it alone.

It's clear that Slovenia international needs a backup striker to share minutes across the four competitions United will compete in this year, but is trying to repeat United's success by signing a promising Bundesliga striker the right thing to do?

Manchester United haven't permanently signed a striker over 23 since bringing Cristiano Ronaldo back to Old Trafford in 2021/22, and there's a strong argument that United need an experienced option to back up players like Šeško.

United missed the perfect opportunity to bring Danny Welbeck back to the club, but he ultimately signed for Chelsea. United should also prioritise Premier League experience in their potential striker, as the club will need guaranteed goals from their second striker.