Manchester United fans move on fast. A week ago, Cody Gakpo was the be-all and end-all. The solution to the Red Devils’ striker problem. The missing piece of manager Erik ten Hag’s puzzle. With Cristiano Ronaldo out of the picture, ready to strut his stuff in the Saudi Pro League, Gakpo would be the man to carry the baton of the departing number 7. Until he signed for Liverpool.
This was a crisis, make no mistake. Fans were crestfallen on social media. How could the Glazers, the much-maligned owners of the club, have let the ideal Ronaldo replacement go to their biggest rivals? The answer is: they didn’t.
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Gakpo is primarily a winger by trade, while Ronaldo has long been a centre forward. Fans were hungry for a transfer, any transfer. They were buoyed by reports carrying the word “forward” and a successful World Cup in which Gakpo played various roles in Louis van Gaal’s fluid front three. But Gakpo was never the answer to United’s centre forward problem, with his profile sitting closer to that of Marcus Rashford than an out-and-out number nine.
Joao Felix is the latest name on the lips of overexcited online Reds. On the surface, you can see why. The Atletico Madrid star is reportedly available on loan, albeit an expensive one. This will benefit United, who already shelled out large fees on the likes of Antony and Casemiro in the summer. A loan would also protect United against any failure on Felix's part to adjust to the demands of the Premier League. The Old Trafford club are no strangers to a flop, with the likes of Memphis Depay, Radamel Falcao and Angel Di Maria failing to adapt in the not-too-distant past.
However, despite a loan seeming to make sense and Ten Hag’s team needing a forward, the Felix deal doesn’t actually make much sense. The reason is the same as it was for Gakpo; Felix isn’t a centre forward. In modern parlance he’s a “second-striker” at best. An attacking midfielder or number ten if we’re being honest with ourselves. Felix has not broken into double figures for league goals since signing for Atleti in 2019.
This is not to say Felix lacks talent. Far from it. He is a demonstrably gifted footballer. But, as with Gakpo, United fans have once again become carried away with the idea of a player without looking into what he is. The name is almost immaterial, as long as someone says he’s a striker then they will obsess over signing him.
There is the added element of competition too. Arsenal and Chelsea are understood to be pursuing Felix. Liverpool were obviously in for Gakpo. We have discussed on these pages before how the transfer market is just as important to some fans as the league table. It certainly feels like the transfer activity of other teams fuels how desperate a fanbase is to see a signing completed. Losing out on Felix would be unacceptable to some fans. Seeing him sign for Arsenal or Chelsea would be unforgivable, despite him not being the player United need.
Wherever Felix ends up, it will be treated as something akin to a trophy victory on social media. Whether the attacking midfielder is seen as bolstering Arsenal’s unlikely title challenge or adding some much-needed firepower at Old Trafford or Stamford Bridge, his arrival will be feted by supporters. But United fans in particular would do well to consider what they’d be getting. An excellent player? Absolutely. A centre forward? Not really. An out-and-out Ronaldo replacement? Definitely not.
