Why Pierre Aubameyang Is the Player Manchester United Need to Aid Wayne Rooney
Manchester United's centre-forward problem is not an easy one to solve, but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang could be a good choice as a foil for Wayne Rooney.
Aubameyang has never been a guaranteed goal machine of a striker. However, if United want to bring in an out-and-out No. 9 like Christian Benteke, Harry Kane or Alexandre Lacazette, then they will have to do something about the Wayne Rooney problem.
Working on the assumption that Louis van Gaal intends to play 4-3-3 next season, any No. 9 displacing Rooney from his up-front role would force the United and England captain either to the bench or to a deeper-lying role. Given that Van Gaal has been completely committed to having Rooney in his starting XI, it is the latter that seems likely.
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United rarely played well last season with Rooney anywhere other than at centre-forward. When he played as a midfielder, he often looked lost, not spending enough time ahead of the ball and lacking experience of the duties of the position.
An exception to this was the Newcastle United game at Old Trafford, where Rooney got a brace from midfield, but that was an outlier. In attacking midfield, he looked more assured and would be a reasonably natural fit for the position Marouane Fellaini filled when he played alongside Ander Herrera in front of Michael Carrick.
However, with new cards to shuffle into the pack—Memphis Depay will presumably not be United's last attack-minded signing—if a guaranteed starter of a No. 9 comes in, Rooney would have to occupy a definite spot in central attacking midfield, which would limit Van Gaal's flexibility.
Some of this could be mitigated against should United manage a deep run in the Champions League, as fixture congestion will require much more rotation than was needed last time out. However, that is certainly not guaranteed.
Of course, all this is written on the assumption that Robin van Persie will not hold down a first-team berth. If Van Gaal believes in his countryman's ability to lead the line for United next season, and if Van Persie's fitness holds up, then transfer funds would probably be better spent elsewhere.
Rooney would be certain to play in attacking midfield were that to come to pass.
However, the past two seasons have offered little evidence that Van Persie should be United's first-choice striker next season. Thus the choice becomes either Rooney or A. N. Other. If another is the option preferred, then one of Karim Benzema, Kane, Benteke, Lacazette et al becomes the best choice.
Assuming Rooney is first-choice centre-forward, though, and Van Gaal and United wish to augment their striking options in a more flexible manner, Aubameyang would be an excellent signing. While he has never cracked 20 league goals in a season, he has only netted fewer than 15 once in the past four seasons.
That was in his first season at Borussia Dortmund, and he still managed 13. Given he is 26 years old, it is possible that his peak is yet to come—although his pace is certainly one of his main assets.
In the season just gone, he had clearly settled better at the club and was both their leading goalscorer and assist-maker in the league, scoring 16 times and setting up six goals in Jurgen Klopp's struggling side.
He played mostly as a centre-forward though he had plenty of run-outs on the right-wing, too. It is that flexibility that makes him a more natural fit for United than some of the other players mentioned assuming Rooney retains the central striker role.
He would offer a different option from Rooney as a striker, too. Quick with excellent movement among defenders, he would be a potent counter-attacking option late in games. A front three of, say, Angel Di Maria, Depay and Aubameyang would certainly hold the keys to unlock tired defences.
He has an eye for a key pass, too. He made 1.4 of them per game on average last season, the same number as Rooney. He has a fine range of finishing and does a lot of his best work in the box even when cutting in from wide positions.
Perhaps the best alternative in the hybrid wide-player/centre-forward mould would be Edinson Cavani, a player who has long been linked with United. Harry Pratt of the Daily Star reported a swap deal with Paris Saint-Germain could be on the cards, with Di Maria heading south on the Eurostar—metaphorically speaking.
Aubameyang would presumably be cheaper than Cavani, and over the past couple of seasons, they have similar scoring records. Of course, Cavani has the highs of his Napoli career on his record—there is nothing on Aubameyang's CV to match.
However, Cavani is a couple of years older than the Borussia man, and it may simply be that his best years are behind him.
There are two key reasons for leaning towards Aubameyang. The first is that if signing Cavani means losing Di Maria, it may simply be too great a cost.
The Argentinian, of course, underwhelmed in his first season at Old Trafford. However, given his history of proving his critics wrong, the prospect of Di Maria finding his best form is hardly far-fetched, and if it came to pass, it would be glorious.
The second is that Aubameyang does not carry the same status in the world game as Cavani and thus may be more accommodating if left out of a first XI or two. United suffered last season from Van Gaal working overtime to try to accommodate all his best players.
Van Persie, Rooney, Radamel Falcao, Juan Mata and Di Maria are all excellent players, but trying to fit all of them into a functional XI was a challenge Van Gaal never pulled off. Rooney, being the most obviously flexible, was used too deep. Mata too spent much of the season nearer to his own goal than he should have been.
Of course, the flanks at Old Trafford are likely to see plenty of competition for places next season, too. Depay, Di Maria, Mata, Ashley Young, Adnan Januzaj and the emerging talent of Andreas Pereira will all be competing for the two wide-forward roles. Thus even signing a hybrid of a striker and wide man will not guarantee a starting berth in every game.
At least, though, a player of that ilk would be competing for two potential spots rather than just one.
If aiding Rooney is the goal, a support striker happy to be rotated in terms of both position and playing time is what is needed. Whether Rooney will end up being productive enough to justify building the front line around him will only become known with time.
Assuming the price was reasonable, Aubameyang would be a fine option to fulfil this duty.
Considering the question of who best accompanies Rooney in United's squad brings home the catch-22 in which United find themselves. Rooney is undroppable in terms of status but has not proved productive enough in terms of either goals or assists to justify that status.
If he is to be Van Gaal's key man up front, then significant strengthening will probably not come to the Red Devils' attack this summer. Aubameyang has all the assets needed to supplement United's squad nicely.
However, given what is being offered to him would essentially be the role of understudy, he may well prefer a spotlight elsewhere.
All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.
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