Manchester United is ‘considering a January transfer for Nikola Krstovic’

Manchester United is rumored to be interested in signing Lecce attacker Nikola Krstovic in January as they try to expand their offensive options in 2024.

Erik ten Hag, the head coach of the Red Devils, has reportedly been informed by the newly appointed Sir Jim Ratcliffe that money will be available to bolster the team during the winter market.

According to a recent report, Ratcliffe believes the team needs reinforcements at full-back and in the last third of the field. Ratcliffe is set to pay approximately £1.3 billion to acquire 25% of the team.

The team’s best scorer this year is Rasmus Hojlund, who has five goals after joining from Atalanta BC over the summer, all of which have come in the Champions League.

Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford have each only scored one goal, while Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes are next in line with four goals each, followed by Scott McTominay with three.

Due to his falling out with Ten Hag, Jadon Sancho is getting ready to leave Old Trafford in January, making room in the squad for a new attacker to join.

Mehdi Taremi of Porto has been connected to a mid-season transfer to the team, and Federico Chiesa is rumored to be on the radar due to his unclear future at Juventus.

Calciomercato claims that Krstovic is also very much on the club’s radar, and that Man United may compete with Inter Milan for his services in the January transfer window.

Despite having only moved to Lecce during the summer, the report suggests that the forward might be available for as cheap as €10m (£8.7m) at the beginning of 2024.

Before moving to Lecce in August of last year, Krstovic played 66 games for Slovakian team DAC Dunajska Streda, where he scored 37 goals and provided eight assists.

This season, the 23-year-old has been in excellent form for his Italian side, making 12 appearances and scoring four goals, all of which have come in Serie A.

The attacker, who has made 12 appearances for Montenegro and scored twice, is back in the team for their forthcoming Euro 2024 qualification games against Lithuania and Hungary.

With three goals apiece, Fernandes and McTominay are Man United’s joint top scorers in the Premier League this season, which is a sign of the team’s goal-scoring struggles in 2023–2024.

But Ten Hag’s team has won four of their last five league games, and they are now up to sixth place in the standings.