Manchester United are going into the summer transfer window thoroughly aware of how important it could be for the next ten years of the football club.
Leeds United, Aston Villa, Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest have all dropped in recent years into the Championship after mismanagement. It has long been claimed that the Reds were 'too big to fail'.
But that was before this season. While they have managed to avoid any late relegation drama thanks to the weaknesses of the bottom three, they still languish in the bottom half and are now destined to record their lowest-ever points tally in Premier League history.
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Suddenly the prospect of relegation is not so absurd, especially if United manage to fumble yet another window. To get off to a good start, there will be an onus on the Reds to sign strikers who can affect the game more than Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have managed to date.
According to Sky Sports News reporter Melissa Reddy, Napoli's Victor Osimhen, Ipswich Town's Liam Delap and Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha are all on the list of potential striker signings this summer. Perhaps more concerning for the current strikeforce is the added detail that United are looking to sign two centre-forwards.
For Zirkzee, that might not be too big a concern. In the Ruben Amorim system, he has carved out a niche where he can play well in one of the two no.10 roles.
However, for Hojlund, this is a big problem. The Dane is an out-and-out centre-forward, and his worry will be that his playing time shall drop considerably if two new strikers are signed.
He has not been convincing for United this season, and while he is still young, there is a certain expectation that he should be able to provide more of a threat for the Reds. Following the untimely injury for Zirkzee in the defeat to Newcastle, Hojlund now has at least seven matches to show why he deserves to stay at Old Trafford.
We know that United will need to sell to buy, and the likes of Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford and Antony look set to be sold, but more could be needed, and Hojlund will be keen; he is not one of them. The only way to confirm that he won't be put up for sale is if he starts to perform like many hoped he would.
Between now and the end of the season, he can prove his worth to Amorim and at least cause the Portuguese head coach a headache in the transfer window.
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