With Manchester United currently enduring what has been a rather dismal first few months of the campaign, supporters will likely already be looking ahead to the upcoming January transfer window in the hope of some fresh blood being brought in to bolster the ranks.
The Red Devils were notably particularly active during the winter window earlier this year after snapping up the likes of Marcel Sabitzer, Jack Butland and Wout Weghorst on short-term deals, albeit with the latter man, in particular, failing to fire amid a limp six-month stay at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman – who scored just twice for the club in total in 31 outings – had been brought in to plug the gap following Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, with a striking addition seemingly again required this time around, as Anthony Martial has just six months left to run on his existing contract.
Player
Goals
Scott McTominay
6
Bruno Fernandes
5
Rasmus Hojlund
5
Casemiro
4
Alejandro Garnacho
3
Marcus Rashford
2
Anthony Martial
2
Stats via BBC Sport
Amid that need for a genuine rival to young Rasmus Hojlund, recent reports have indicated that Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy is of interest to United, even though the 27-year-old could well represent just another Weghorst as far as Erik ten Hag is concerned.
Man Utd transfer news – Serhou Guirassy
As reported by The Guardian's Ed Aarons last week, Ten Hag and co are believed to be interested in signing the Guinea striker and have even made contact with agents regarding a possible swoop in the New Year.
As per the piece, the former Ajax boss is chasing a suitable alternative to Hojlund with the Dane failing to score in the Premier League so far this season, while there is a potential for the club to try and 'find a buyer' for the floundering Martial.
Any deal for Guirassy is likely to be an attractive prospect due to his minimal release clause of just €17m (£15m), albeit with the Red Devils set to face competition from top-flight rivals Newcastle United, who also have the in-form marksman on their winter shortlist.
The stats to show why Man Utd shouldn't sign Serhou Guirassy
On the face of it, the 6 foot 2 brute looks like the perfect, bargain option to help ease United's attacking woes.
Available for as little as £15m, the former Stade Rennais man is among the top forwards in Europe at present with regard to his goalscoring form in 2023/24, having already netted 16 Bundesliga goals this season.
To put that into perspective, that figure is only bettered by former United target Harry Kane (18) in the German top-flight, while in the Premier League, Erling Haaland leads the way with 'just' 14 league goals.
Ruling out signing Guirassy may look rather foolish when the player is currently in such esteemed company, although as data analyst Ben Griffis has suggested, such a hot streak is a result of "xG over-performance" in front of goal.
According to Griffis, the forward's 'over-performance' is seemingly "very unsustainable", while he is also usually "wildly inconsistent" – hardly the words those at the Theatre of Dreams would like to hear.
While the one-time Lille man did net 11 goals in just 22 league games last season for Stuttgart, prior to that he had very much been a middling striker, never scoring more than ten league goals across his entire career in a single campaign.
Equally, as Ten Hag learned with Weghorst, success in the Bundesliga is not always a good judge of a player's talents, with the towering Dutchman, for instance, previously scoring 70 goals in just 144 games for Wolfsburg, prior to his woes at both United and Burnley – for whom he also scored just twice.
Having been stung by the frankly desperate signing of the current Hoffenheim man, the Red Devils must think again before repeating that mistake with regard to Guirassy, with it likely better to wait until the summer in order to land a target with a proven track record over a sustained period.