Manchester United are said to have failed with a bid to sign Bournemouth’s Joshua King, who has become the latest forward to be linked with a move to Old Trafford.
A litany of strikers has been linked with the Red Devils this month, with Salomon Rondon – who currently plays for Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Yifang – the most recent player to crop up. Odion Ighalo and Islam Slimani have also been touted as potential recruits.
However, the Telegraph now claims United have been rebuffed in their pursuit of King, who was previously on the books at the Premier League giants as a youngster and worked with current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer during that time.
An Old Trafford source told the daily broadsheet that the deal was one “we thought we could get done but was met with resistance from Bournemouth”.
It’s perhaps unsurprising that the Cherries have decided against letting one of their key attackers leave. The south coast outfit are in danger of getting relegated after a poor first half of the season and will need each of their forward stars firing to lead them away from the foot of the Premier League table.
Eddie Howe is said to be determined to keep King at the Vitality Stadium, though what that means for United’s striker search ahead of Friday’s deadline remains to be seen.
It seems quite likely that Solskjaer may have to make do with just Anthony Martial and Mason Greenwood as his main options up front, with Marcus Rashford out for the foreseeable short term with a back injury.
Sky Sports even claim Real Sociedad offered United the chance to permanently sign 28-year-old Willian Jose, who has been in talks with Tottenham over a loan move.
While 46 goals in 113 league appearances for the La Liga side is a decent enough record, whether he would prove to be the effective stop-gap United need is anyone’s guess.
