Man Utd also ready to pay £44m release clause for “king of kings” after Cunha

Manchester United are now ready to trigger the £44m release clause required to sign another striker, who could be in line to follow Matheus Cunha to Old Trafford in the summer, according to a report.

Cunha set to complete move to Man Utd

Cunha will no doubt have been hoping Man United were victorious in the Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur last week, but the defeat doesn’t appear to have dissuaded the Brazilian from making the move to Old Trafford this summer.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has now taken to X to confirm the Wolverhampton Wanderers star is set to sign for the Red Devils, with an agreement being struck between all parties, but he will not come cheap.

At £62.5m, the deal is on the expensive side, and United missing out on Champions League football could hamper their ability to splash the cash in the upcoming transfer window, but a report has revealed they are also now prepared to spend big on a striker.

Indeed, according to a report from Italy (via Sport Witness), Man United are now ‘ready’ to trigger the €52m (£44m) release clause in Moise Kean’s Fiorentina contract, which remains active until July.

The Red Devils are said to have moved onto cheaper targets than Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres, perhaps in light of losing the Europa League final against Spurs, and they are now willing to sign Kean, fresh off the back of one of the best seasons of the striker’s career.

Kean fulfilling his potential since move to Italy

The Italian’s previous stint in the Premier League didn’t go exactly to plan, scoring just four goals in 39 games across all competitions for Everton, but there are signs he could now deserve a second chance to prove himself in England.

The 25-year-old finished the 2024-25 campaign as the second-highest scorer in the Serie A behind Atalanta’s Mateo Retegui, scoring 19 goals in 32 outings, and if he were able to record similar numbers at Man United, a £44m outlay would be justified.

It is clear that Ruben Amorim will need to bring in a new striker this summer, with Rasmus Hojlund scoring just four Premier League goals across the entire 2024-25 campaign, while Joshua Zirkzee fared even worse, finding the back of the net on just three occasions.

Having been lauded as the “king of kings” by pundit Mina Rzouki, Kean could be an upgrade on both Hojlund and Zirkzee, but his previous struggles in the Premier League mean it would be a real gamble for Man United to sign the striker based on one impressive season.