Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plans to sign Mario Mandzukic from Juventus this winter, reports say.
The Croatia international nearly made the move to Old Trafford back in the summer as part of a swap deal that would have seen Romelu Lukaku move to Juventus.
However, the deal collapsed when Manchester United ended up selling Lukaku to Inter Milan instead.
Yet the Metro say Solskjaer wants to land the 34-year-old and use him as backup to Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
Mandzukic is seen as a short-term solution to the club’s striker problems.
Since Lukaku’s exit, United’s crop of strikers have failed to deliver with Rashford often struggling up top.
Martial started the season well with goals against Chelsea and Wolves but has been sidelined through injury since the club’s defeat to Crystal Palace in August.
And United are hoping Mandzukic can be a short-term solution to an issue that has damaged their season.
Solskjaer has already expressed a desire to strengthen his strike force in January, saying recently: “We let Alexis and Romelu go.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see that it’s forward that next time we’re going to recruit.
“We’re looking for some creativity and goals.
“There’s no point getting players in that you’re not 100 per cent sure about.
“When you get players in, you need the right ones that are going to stay here for a longer period and that’s the long-term thinking we have to show.
“I cannot think, ‘I need a player because this is my reputation’. No, it’s the club.
“There were strikers [available in the off-season], but they weren’t the ones we wanted. We couldn’t get the one we wanted.”
Mandzukic isn’t the only striker United are being linked with.
Callum Wilson, of Bournemouth, has his admirers at Old Trafford having impressed under Eddie Howe.
And United have also been linked with Moussa Dembele, of Lyon, and Krylia Sovetov hitman Aleksandr Sobolev.