Sir Alex Ferguson's side fell just short of Chelsea in the battle to retain their Premier League crown last season.
Ferguson has already added Mexico's exciting World Cup star Javier Hernandez to the Old Trafford ranks this summer. However, with only youngsters Danny Welbeck and Mame Biram Diouf as additional recognized strikers, United still look thin in attack as they attempt to wrest back the Premier League title.
IMScouting recommends five experienced strikers that Manchester United should take a look at. Each player has enough international or Champions League experience to justify a first-team slot at Old Trafford. All are within Ferguson's budget and have enough years ahead of them to carve out a good Manchester United career.
Mirko Vucinic (Montenegro) – AS Roma
Age: 26
Height: 6ft 1in
Last Season: 42 appearances, 17 goals, 5 assists
International Caps: 17 (9 goals)
Estimated Market Value: €15M-20M
Vucinic has been one of Serie A's best kept secrets for the past two or three seasons. Probably due to the fact that he plays his international football for Montenegro, Vucinic has not captured as many headlines as some of the other stars in Italy's top division.
But, make no mistake, Vucinic is a top class attacker and has scored regularly for Roma over the last three seasons. His goals were critical last term as Claudio Ranieri's side narrowly missed out on the league title itself.
There are very few weaknesses to his game, as both Real Madrid and Chelsea have found out in, having conceded goals to Vucinic in the Champions League.
At 6ft 1in, he is dangerous in the air, but the Montenegro captain also possesses a good turn of pace, deft touch and has a wicked shot from distance. In many respects, Vucinic has similar attributes to Wayne Rooney and an attack containing both players would provide a fearsome combination of power, pace and precision.
Vucinic also provides important versatility to the squad. Like Rooney, he is comfortable playing as a lone striker and performed this role successfully in Francesco Totti's absence at Roma. He is also effective as part of a strike partnership and can also play slightly deeper on the left-hand side of an attack.
Radamel Falcao (Colombia) – FC Porto
Age: 24
Height: 5ft 8in
Last Season: 36 appearances, 29 goals, 4 assists
International Caps: 22 (5 goals)
Estimated Market Value: €10M-15M
Falcao has been outstanding both during his time with River Plate in Argentina and since moving to Porto last summer, but there is a feeling that the best is yet to come from the Colombian.
The 24-year-old suffered a serious knee injury in 2006 following a promising start to his career. That he has recovered with such great success is testament to his character and determination. Falcao was voted the fifth best player in South America in 2007 and scored almost a goal every two games in his final season with River Plate.
He finished as the top scorer in the Portugese league last season, notching 29 goals in his debut season with Porto, including four in the Champions League.
Falcao is an aggressive and explosive striker. Known as 'The Tiger' he is renowned for his determination and has a strong burst of pace. Falcao is also a deadly finisher with both feet. One can imagine him winning much of the possession for which Wayne Rooney fought so hard for Manchester United last season.
Falcao also appears to be keen on a move to England. His father, also a former professional footballer commented in May, “All his life he has wanted to play in English football."
Lucas Barrios (Paraguay) – Borussia Dortmund
Age: 25
Height: 6ft 1in
Last Season: 33 appearances, 19 goals, 4 assists
International Caps: 7 (3 goals)
Estimated Market Value: €15M-20M
Lucas Barrios excelled in his first season in Europe and as a result played a role in Paraguay's successful World Cup campaign. Although born in Argentina, Barrios made his name in Chile and finished as the Chilean league's top scorer in 2008.
Despite being viewed as one of the top strikers on the continent, many wondered how we would cope with the step up to the German Bundesliga, when he moved to Borussia Dortmund last summer.
They need not have worried, as his 19 goals took Dortmund to European qualification and saw him end the season as the third top scorer in the league. Qualifying for Paraguay through his mother, Barrios ended an incredible year at the World Cup finals.
In terms of style, Barrios is reminiscent of a modern day Mark Hughes. Barrios packs an awesome shot, is cool in one-on-one situations and is a very strong and hard working forward.
At 6ft 1in, he also provides an aerial presence. Very much a team player, Barrios has the intelligence to make the most of chances created by talented midfielders at Old Trafford such as Nani.
Nilmar (Brazil) – Villarreal
Age: 26
Height: 5ft 9in
Last Season: 42 appearances, 12 goals, 5 assists
Estimated Market Value: €10M-15M
Although the Brazilian didn't take the World Cup by storm, Nilmar remains an excellent player who is likely to be part of the national squad for several years to come.
Although he failed to score in five appearances in South Africa, Nilmar has scored a respectable eight goals in 21 games for Brazil. Nilmar had a spell in France at Lyon sandwiched between two successful periods in Brazil with Internacional. During his time there, Nilmar scored the winner in 2008 to make Internacional the first Brazilian side to lift the Copa Sudamericana.
Spanish side Villarreal snapped him up last summer and Nilmar began to repay their faith immediately by scoring on his debut. He was a danger to La Liga defences throughout the season and picked up good experience with goals in the Europa League.
If Sir Alex Ferguson is looking to add some South American magic to his squad, Nilmar could be the man. An extremely technical player, Nilmar provides the kind of touch, dribbling and passing skills that will inevitably yield chances for himself and others.
He also has an excellent eye for goal and is strong in the air for his height. Some view last summer's sale of Carlos Tevez as a mistake. Nilmar has the style to quickly win over the hearts of the Old Trafford crowd in much the same way as Tevez did.
Oscar Cardozo (Paraguay) - Benfica
Age: 27
Height: 6ft 3in
Last Season: 42 appearances, 36 goals, 5 assists
Estimated Market Value: €15M-20M
Another player who shouldn't be judged on the World Cup finals alone. Cardozo will probably be best remembered for failing to convert a penalty against Spain in the quarter-finals. However, there is little doubting the quality of Cardozo who was the top scorer in both the Portugese League and the Europa League last season.
A natural striker, his 6ft 3in frame means that he will always cause a problem for defences. However, Cardozo is far from just a target man. He also has a very good touch and is just as dangerous from outside the box as he is from within.
In stature, Cardozo is similar to Dimitar Berbatov , but he poses a more natural goalscoring threat than the Bulgarian.
Cardozo began his career in Paraguay, before earning a move to Argentinian side Newell's Old Boys, where he was in instant success. He became Benfica's second most expensive player ever when he joined the Portugese giants in summer 2007.
Cardozo has not disappointed, scoring well over a goal every two games for them. Last season he scored two goals against Everton and Liverpool in the Europa League and also has significant Champions League experience under his belt.
If Sir Alex is looking for a younger striker…
The five players above are all seasoned strikers in Europe's top leagues. However, Sir Alex Ferguson has been known to purchase players for the future who he believes have the potential to succeed in the years to come, if not immediately. The signings of Mame Birma Diouf, the Da Silva twins and Gabriel Obertan are cases in point.
Should Sir Alex look to go down that route again with a striker, here are two names that IMScouting recommends who have already made an impact in European football:
Romelu Lukaku (Anderlecht) – Aged 17
Estimate Market Value: €15M-20M
Estimate Market Value: €15M-20M
Romelu Lukaku is the hottest sensation in Belgian football and has just extended his current deal at Anderlecht despite interest from a host major European clubs.
The 17-year-old striker is now contracted to Anderlecht until the end of season 2014/2015 to ward off interest from the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal, Everton, Schalke, AC Milan and Barcelona.
Last season Lukaku scored 18 goals in 43 appearances for Anderlecht, became the youngest ever scorer in the Champions League and also made his international debut for Belgium. He has an enormous physique and still has plenty of time to grow.
Stevan Jovetic (Fiorentina) – Aged 20
Estimated Market Value: €15M-20M
Estimated Market Value: €15M-20M
Like his compatriot Vucinic, Montenegro international Stevan Jovetic has excelled in Italy's Serie A. He began his career with Serb giants Partizan Belgrade, before moving to Fiorentina, where he made a huge impact last season, scoring eleven goals and providing five assists.
Although he can still improve his finishing, Jovetic has all the raw talent to become a top name in world football. He has excellent technical ability, wonderful vision, a good range of passing and is dangerous with both feet and in the air.
Manchester United were rumoured to be interested in Jovetic early last season. His stock among the Old Trafford faithful can only have been strengthened by a brace against Liverpool in last season's Champions League.
Jovetic has also scored an impressive six goals in twelve international appearances.
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