Manchester United are on the lookout for successors to the wantaway Portugal international
Erik ten Hag applauds the Manchester United fans after a Premier League game(Image credit: Getty)
Manchester United have identified three potential replacements for wantaway striker Cristiano Ronaldo, according to reports.
The Portugal international faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford after he was criticised for leaving the stadium before the final whistle in last week's 2-0 victory over Tottenham.
ESPN writes that United are willing to let Ronaldo leave on a free transfer after failing to find a buyer for the 37-year-old.
Cristiano Ronaldo arrives for the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur (Image credit: Manchester United via Getty Images)
Ronaldo, who asked to leave the club in the summer, has grown frustrated at a lack of game time this term, having started only two matches in the Premier League.
United are beginning to plan for life after the striker, with three players identified as potential replacements.
According to the Daily Mirror, the Red Devils are keeping tabs on Lyon frontman Moussa Dembele, Bayer Leverkusen forward Patrik Schick and Lille marksman Jonathan David.
Those three names are at the top of Erik ten Hag's transfer wishlist, with Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix no longer one of the club's top targets.
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Dembele, who previously plied his trade for Fulham and Celtic, has been at Lyon since 2018. The uncapped Frenchman scored 21 goals in Ligue 1 last term and is valued at just £16.2m by Transfermarkt, largely because he is out of contract next summer.
Schick was the joint-top scorer alongside Ronaldo at Euro 2020 and would no doubt be keen on a move to Old Trafford given the struggles of his current club, Bayer Leverkusen.
Manchester United are keeping tabs on Lyon striker Moussa Dembele (Image credit: Getty)
Jonathan David has made a fantastic start to the season for Lille, scoring nine goals in his first 12 appearances in Ligue 1. At 22 years of age he is the youngest of United's attacking targets.
Following a 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Saturday, United will return to action on Thursday as they take on Sheriff Tiraspol in the Europa League.
Their next Premier League assignment pits the Red Devils against West Ham on Sunday.
Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).
