Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted he could do with a sharpshooter like Harry Kane as Manchester United attempt to end their wretched away form at Partizan Belgrade.
Sunday’s 1-1 draw with in-form rivals Liverpool offered a chink of light after a miserable few months at Old Trafford.
The decision to let Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez join Inter Milan without attacking reinforcements always looked risky and Anthony Martial’s recent injury lay-off highlighted that issue.
Solskjaer still believes the decision to let the high-profile duo leave was right for the group, but the United manager has made no secret of his desire to sign an out-and-out striker.
Club great Roy Keane at the weekend claimed they should move for Tottenham star Kane – a suggestion put to the Norwegian ahead of the match against Partizan.
“Roy’s quite straightforward, isn’t he? For us, it’s working hard. Getting Anthony back is going to be a massive boost for us and I’m sure when Anthony comes back that’ll help Marcus (Rashford) as well,” Solskjaer said.
“With the forwards we’ve got, with the pace and the skills, I’m looking forward to the next few weeks.
“There aren’t many (Robert) Lewandowskis and Harry Kanes. They’re like (Alan) Shearer, (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy – fantastic goalscorers.
“Ours are different types of players, but I have to say I like someone who can finish half a chance and he does that. He’s one of the best, but he’s a Tottenham player.”
Martial is part of the squad that travelled to Belgrade for Thursday’s Europa League match, but Nemanja Matic, Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot, Eric Bailly and Axel Tuanzebe remain out.
Paul Pogba is unavailable through injury and Solskjaer confirmed the midfielder will also miss Sunday’s trip to Norwich, although David De Gea will be available despite missing the clash in Serbia.
United are desperately hoping to head to Carrow Road buoyed by a much-needed win, having last triumphed on the road against Paris St Germain in March’s jaw-dropping Champions League clash.
“It’s a question we’ve asked ourselves as well,” Solskjaer said after 11 successive winless matches.
“Because after I came in we won nine on the bounce and since then we haven’t won any.
“So, it’s an issue we have to deal with, sort out as soon as possible. We’ve got four games away now on the trot, so hopefully those statistics will turn.
“Of course, I’ve watched many (Partizan) games in the lead-up here.
“I also watched them when they played Molde, which is my old team. Of course it was a game that I was following very close.
“I know them, I spoke to the coach in Molde, what did he feel.
“Zoran (Tosic) I had in the reserves at Man United many times. A fantastic boy, great left foot, great work ethic.
“It’ll be nice to meet Zoran tomorrow, but hopefully we stop his left foot because that is of the best quality.
“We’ve seen the team and prepared our team against them. A team with some pace, big strong striker and some talent in there. Two or three very exciting players.”
