Analysing Whether Manchester United Need a New Striker in the Summer

Given his impact already this season, it is no surprise Marcus Rashford is in line for a significant wage rise at Manchester United, according to the Sun. 

In spite of the 18-year-old's emergence, though, United are still being linked with established, top-level strikers.

The Sun reported the club have "opened talks" with Borussia Dortmund over a potential deal for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The Observer (via Rob Pollard of Manchester Evening News) claimed that if Jose Mourinho takes over at United, Harry Kane would be "his top transfer target."

However, is this where the Red Devils need to invest their money this summer? It's a complicated question.

The first thing to state is that goalscorers are incredibly important to top clubs.

The first- and second-placed teams in the Premier League employ the division's first and second top scorers so far this season. At no point in the past five years has a team won the Premier League without one of their strikers finishing in the top three of the goalscoring charts.

On its face, that would suggest United need to bring in someone with a track record in terms of production. Rashford's longevity is an unknown quantity—though the signs are promising. It is also not yet clear how prolific he will become.

Then, of course, there is Anthony Martial. The France international has done well playing off the left this season, either to accommodate Wayne Rooney or Rashford at centre-forward. He has also shown a great deal of promise in front of goal, both in terms of his finishing and his all-round centre-forward play.

He would, though, need to score more goals next term than he has this season to be considered an elite striker. This is an entirely possible outcome given how impressive the 20-year-old has been in his debut campaign, but relying on him would be something of a gamble.

Rooney remains a factor, though it is not clear how much of one. He is the club captain, which Louis van Gaal has taken extremely seriously, but would any incoming manager would be so beholden to United's No. 10?

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One of the likely outcomes of a new manager would be another period of experimentation with Rooney's best position. After this season, in spite of his good run of form at the beginning of 2016, it is hard to imagine either the incumbent or any new manager deciding to back Rooney as United's main centre-forward for the whole campaign.

The problem with bringing in Kane or Aubameyang—and particularly the Tottenham Hotspur man, given the latter's positional versatility—is it would deny either Rashford or Martial the opportunity to develop as a centre-forward. While it might be an obvious route to success, it comes at a cost.

An elite goalscorer is needed if United are to once again compete for the Premier League title, but bringing one in feels a little like a zero-sum game in terms of the progression of Rashford and Martial.

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The potential benefits of bringing in either Kane or Aubameyang become clear when looking at their output for this season.

The England international is scoring at a rate of 0.7 goals per 90 minutes in the league and scored at a rate of 0.5 goals per 90 in the UEFA Europa League. 

Aubameyang's numbers are even more impressive. He has scored at a remarkable 0.9 goals per 90 minutes in the league and one goal per 90 in the Europa League. 

Rashford is the only United player who can match anything like those numbers, although his sample size is small. He is scoring at a rate of 0.8 goals per game so far in the league and in Europe, but he has played just seven games in those competitions. 

Martial and Rooney are both averaging 0.3 goals per 90 minutes in league and European competition. That is not the strike rate of a top-level striker, though it would seem a reasonably safe bet that Martial would improve on this number in a more functional side wherein he was the first-choice centre-forward.

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Both Rashford and Martial have shown they can play as wide forwards, but their goalscoring instincts suggest striker is a natural fit. And if another forward is brought in, does that mean the club are giving up on Memphis Depay's chances of adapting to the Premier League? After all, if Martial is displaced from the middle, he will take Memphis' place on the left.

Turning down the chance to watch players of Kane or Aubameyang's quality in their club's colours is not something many football fans would willingly do. However, given the impact that would have on the futures of the young players breaking through this season, perhaps United would be wiser to invest elsewhere in the squad this summer.

Doing so would give them the chance to build a stronger platform upon which their strikers can perform. There are, after all, plenty of areas in the squad that need improvement.

Perhaps neither Martial nor Rashford will turn out to be a world-beater, but they deserve their chance to take centre stage to see whether they can improve or maintain their numbers respectively.

Things will be clearer by the end of next season, which is perhaps the time for United to decide whether to invest in a new attacking superstar or stick with the potential they have. 

All advanced statistics per WhoScored.com.