Manchester United have ‘accelerated’ their move to sign Malian forward El Bilal Touré, according to french outlet Footmercato.
The 23-year-old joined Atalanta from Almeria in the summer of 2023 but has struggled to nail a starting berth at the club. He was loaned out to Bundesliga side Stuttgart last summer, where he has shown brilliant cameos despite limited playing time, including a goal against Borussia Dortmund.
Following complexities surrounding moves for centre-forwards like Viktor Gyökeres, Victor Osimhen, and Mathys Tel, the Red Devils have are now ‘set to sign’ Toure and have ‘accelerated’ efforts to bring the 23-year-old to Old Trafford, as per the report.
Stuttgart are now considering signing the Ivorian-born Mali international from Atalanta on a permanent €18m (£15m) deal in order to sell him permanently to United for €25m (£20m) plus add-ons, according to the report.
The French outlet also outlines that Sebastian Hoeneß’s side plan on keeping him on loan at the MHPArena for the remainder of the season before moving to Manchester in the summer, a plan that United agrees to.
Touré set for summer move to Old Trafford
Ruben Amorim currently has Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee as his centre-forward options. While Hojlund has impressed in the Europa League with five goals in eight games, his league tally of two goals in 18 appearances is far from convincing.
Zirkzee, on the other hand, has seen his performances improve in recent weeks after his initial struggles that saw him substituted after 33 minutes in the 2-0 loss to Newcastle in December.
However, his goal returns have been subpar with just four goals across all competitions this season.
With 11 goals between the two forwards, it is evident that Man Utd needs a reliable forward who has unquestionable finishing attributes with significant box presence, similar to Gyökeres, who achieved immense success under Amorim.
Although Bilal Touré has struggled for playing time this season due to injury concerns, playing under an attacking-minded coach like Sebastian Hoeneß will help polish his finishing even better and make him ready for the big task ahead if he ends up joining United in the summer.
