Manchester United’s striking options are a topic of discussion because Martial has left the club on loan and, Mason Greenwood is currently under investigation. Manchester United also loaned out a potential false 9 in Amad Diallo. The Red Devil’s striking options are limited to Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani, and Marcus Rashford. This article looks at who should lead United’s attack weekly.

Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player/goal scorer out of the players who can lead the line for Manchester United because he has scored eight goals in the Premier League and six goals in the Champions League. He has netted this amount of goals in a team void of creativity. Some Manchester United fans argue that he is not the Ronaldo of old. The recent FA Cup game against Middlesbrough serves as a remainder that he can be frustrated. He got a player rating of 5.5 in our player ratings article. This is somewhat true but, you have to build your team around Ronaldo to get the best out of him. Cristiano Ronaldo’s age does go against him as a 37-year-old would probably not be able to start week in week out for Manchester United.

Edinson Cavani

Edinson Cavani has the best movement out of all three forwards. Movement is important as strikers are often “man-marked” by the opponent’s central defender. So a top striker must make the opponent’s job of marking very hard. The striker can do this by constantly moving and changing his position on the field concerning the position of the ball. Michael Owen said this about Cavani’s movement “I think he is unbelievable when crosses are coming in. How he nips in defenders, times his run and the actual finishes are brilliant.” An argument against Cavani is the fact that he picks up the occasional injuries. Another argument against Cavani is the fact he is aging.

Marcus Rashford

Marcus Rashford is the youngest out of all three forwards. This means that he won’t get fatigued as easily as the other strikers. It also means that they should be looking at him as a long-term option because Cavani and Ronaldo could leave at the end of the season. Rashford’s pace means he is a different threat to come against as a defender. What goes against Rashford is that he is better coming off the bench as he can stretch opposition defenses. Rashford is arguably better playing on the wing than upfront.

Conclusion

Cristiano Ronaldo should lead the line for Manchester United. This is because he is the best player out of Rashford, Cavani and, himself. Ronaldo is also the best leader out of all three of them. Leadership is one of a few things Manchester United has lacked this season. Ronaldo’s age means that there are games where he has to be on the bench. Cavani and Rashford can pose problems but not to the same degree as Cristiano Ronaldo.