Manchester United have reportedly held an interest in signing Dinamo Zagreb forward Bruno Petkovic in recent months.
On the back of their spending spree during the summer transfer window, United and head coach Erik ten Hag had hoped to be on track to challenge at the top of the Premier League.
Instead, just seven points have been accumulated from their opening six matches, a run that has included 3-0 defeats to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
As a result, Ten Hag again finds himself under pressure to retain his position in the dugout at Old Trafford, the upcoming games with Porto and Aston Villa potentially proving to be decisive.
Scoring goals for United has generally been a problem, their new forward Joshua Zirkzee failing to impress despite his winning goal against Fulham on the opening day of the campaign.
The 23-year-old has since failed to net in seven appearances and is expected to drop behind Rasmus Hojlund in the pecking order should the Dane prove himself after injury.
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Will Ten Hag act in January?
Whether Ten Hag gets the chance to make further alterations to his squad in January remains to be seen, the current onus being on needing to defeat either Porto or Villa on away territory.
Despite the Red Devils purchasing Zirkzee ahead of 2024-25, it appears that an alternative frontman had been identified as a potential arrival.
According to GIVE ME SPORT, Dinamo forward Petkovic was shortlisted as a possible signing by Ten Hag in the summer.
The report suggests that this went against INOES' preference to add younger players to their squad in a bid to lower the average age.
None of United's additions in recent months have been above the age of 26, while Petkovic has recently just turned 30.
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Was not pushing for Petkovic a mistake?
As it stands, Zirkzee, who is said to have cost £36.5m, does not look capable of scoring the goals that United were expecting.
Petkovic does not have any experience plying his trade for a major European club, yet 86 goals and 59 assists have come from 263 outings for Dinamo Zagreb, including a recent goal against Bayern Munich.
Perhaps most notably, he has 11 strikes from 41 outings for Croatia, the 1.93m attacker viewed as the first-choice pick in attack.
Although his profile does not necessarily tick boxes for INOES, Petkovic would have cost considerably less than Zirkzee and added a stronger physical presence in the final third.
Darren Plant
