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Manchester United Closely Monitoring €30m-Rated Napoli Forward: Better Alternative to Cody Gakpo?

Manchester United, free agents, Qatari investors, injury

Manchester United are looking closely at Napoli winger Hirving Lozano who seems to be unhappy with his playtime in the Serie A team. The Mexican’s €30 million price tag makes him a better option compared to Cody Gakpo who could cost around €80 million.

In the previous campaign, Lozano featured 37 times for Napoli (stats via transfermarkt). The 27-year-old scored six goals and provided six assists for the Serie A outfit.

The Red Devils aren’t the only team linked with a move for the 27-year-old as Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Everton are all keeping a close eye on Lozano.

Napoli sit top of the table in Serie A and have already beaten Liverpool in the Champions League this season. Lozano has not been in the starting lineup in the last few games and has given one assist so far in this campaign.

Hirving Lozano celebrating after scoring for Napoli, Hirving Lozano, Manchester United
Image Obtained Via Goal

Player Profile

Hirving Lozano was signed by Napoli in 2019 from PSV Eindhoven and has been a value-for-money signing. The transfer fee of €38 million was the highest paid by Napoli for a player at that time and he became the most expensive Mexican footballer in history. Since arriving in Campania in August 2019, Lozano has scored 26 goals and provided 14 assists in 123 appearances for the club.

Lozano plays primarily as a left winger but can also operate on the right, or as a centre-forward. From wide positions, he has the ability to create overloads in the channels, and has an understanding of when to move centrally from where he offers runs to encourage counter-attacks and transitions.

His speed is one of his most valuable attributes to use in one-on-one situations. He can also often be relied upon by managers to correctly choose when to carry possession, pass and shoot. Lozano is a natural goalscorer capable of capitalising on spaces in an opposition’s defence to create chances to shoot or make diagonal runs near the opposition’s goal.

He will withdraw from the final third to offer help to defenders attempting to play out from the defence, again potentially creating overloads in other areas of the pitch with the help of his versatility.

Lozano is also a willing defender, contributing to attempts to recover possession and playing with discipline when his team is set up to defend. However, if there are attempts to build from defence and he becomes the target of the opposition’s press, his decision-making can be poor.

 

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United have a lot of options on the wings for Erik ten Hag to choose from. Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho have been brilliant this season. The Red Devils have also added Antony to the squad in the recent transfer window.

Anthony Elanga and Alejandro Garnacho can also be called upon from the bench. Thus, spending a considerable amount to bring in another winger in Lozano is not something that the fans feel is necessary.

Anthony Martial has missed the majority of the ongoing campaign so far with injury and the wantaway Cristiano Ronaldo is struggling to adapt to Erik ten Hag’s style. Only the bright early form of Marcus Rashford has offset United’s lack of firepower so far, so a new forward may well be on United’s January shopping list as a result and the latest name to be linked is Lozano.

Follow AD for the Latest Transfer Updates for Manchester United.

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