Manchester United completed the signing of Joshua Zirkzee in the summer of 2024 following an impressive breakthrough campaign with Bologna, where he played a key role in securing the club's qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

Widely regarded as one of Europe's most exciting young attacking talents, the Dutchman attracted interest from several top Serie A clubs before United moved quickly to secure his signature in a deal worth £36.5 million.

Brought to Old Trafford by Erik ten Hag, Zirkzee arrived with a reputation as a technically gifted forward rather than a traditional number nine. His best performances at Bologna came in a system tailored to his strengths, allowing him to link play and influence attacks with his intelligence and creativity.

Although he showed encouraging signs during the latter stages of his debut season, an injury setback ruled him out of both the campaign's conclusion and much of pre-season, leaving him with significant ground to make up ahead of the new term.

The arrival of Benjamin Šeško last summer has further complicated Zirkzee's path to regular minutes. Opportunities have been limited for the Netherlands international, while Bryan Mbeumo has often been preferred through the middle whenever Šeško has been unavailable through injury.

With rumours that Zirkzee could be sold this summer and several Serie A clubs reportedly interested in the Dutch forward, United will be in the market for a striker to add key depth up front ahead of a Champions League campaign.

Šeško has impressed in his debut season in England, scoring 11 goals, many of them in the second half of the season under Michael Carrick, but it is clear that the club needs much stronger depth at striker.

Fresh off the bat of scoring the winning goal in the UEFA Conference League and Oliver Glasner leaving Crystal Palace, this summer could be the ideal time to sign Jean-Philippe Mateta, who has just one year remaining on his contract at Selhurst Park.

As reported by CaughtOffside, sources close to the agents industry have informed the outlet that adding key firepower is a priority for United, and Mateta, who finished the season with 12 goals, could be a fantastic addition to the side at a low cost.

Mateta, 28, has scored 62 goals in 202 games for Palace, but crucially, 33 of those have come in the last two campaigns, and he has been described as "one of the best strikers in Europe" by legendary United forward Wayne Rooney.

Manchester United reportedly showed interest in signing Mateta last January, as he was extremely close to moving away from Crystal Palace, but a move to AC Milan failed on deadline day after failing his medical.

While the likes of Victor Osimhen and Eli Junior Kroupi would obviously be fantastic signings for both the present and future, it's important that Šeško is shown full faith by United, and needs support up front, not major competition to his starting place.

After Robert Lewandowski left Barcelona, an experienced option like the Polish forward could have been a great addition to the United squad, but he is 37, and would only be a very short-term stopgap, and would most likely demand high wages, having just come out of a reported £350,000-per-week contract in Spain.

Mateta, at 28, is in his prime and has the key Premier League experience that INEOS have been targeting with many of their recent signings. With much of United's budget expected to be focused on midfield reinforcements, the Frenchman could be available for a much more reasonable fee than most other similar targets this summer, given his contract situation.