German Nic fits bill for United and would be no Euro knee-jerk signing

JAMAL Musiala has turned heads at City and it is the other two-goal German at the European Championship that United should have their eyes fixed on.

- SAMUEL LUCKHURST

Niclas Fullkrug is 31, an old-fashioned striker and a substitute for Germany. He would not be an exotic post-tournament signing with an esteemed name (Jordi Cruyff) and is unlikely to notch the goal of the tournament (Karel Poborsky).

Wout Weghorst was not fashionable, either. There was logic to acquiring the Dutchman to offset the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo but Weghorst was overexposed by the oft-absent Anthony Martial.

Fullkrug is not a knee-jerk suggestion. This correspondent has prattled on about his ideal profile for United to consider for months on the Manchester Is Red podcast. As United know from Cruyff, Poborsky and Weghorst, signing someone solely on the back of international tournament form is ill-advised.

It was par for the course yesteryear. Alex Ferguson attended Czech Republic versus Germany at Old Trafford in the group stage of the 1996 European Championship and was approached by an agent before kick-off. The agent told him to keep an eye on Poborsky.

Three weeks later, Ferguson decided to move for the winger, despite expressing disapproval of Poborsky's long hair.

Such a scouting strategy would be anathema to any elite club now. Even under Ed Woodward, United settled on a shortlist of summer targets six months in advance.

Fullkrug stood out as an obvious option some time ago.

United need a seasoned striker who will mentor Rasmus Hojlund, keep him on his toes and be a reliable starter and substitute.