Owen Hargreaves urges Manchester United to sign former Juventus star Mario Mandzukic

Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves has urged the Red Devils to sign Mario Mandzukic on a free transfer.

The Englishman heaped praise on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side and went on to weigh in on what he would do to build on the 2019-20 season. Hargreaves believes that United are still behind the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool in terms of firepower, and said they need reinforcements in attack.

With talks over a deal for Jadon Sancho rumoured to be picking up pace, Hargreaves earmarked the former Juventus striker as a player that he would sign.

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Hargreaves believes Mandzukic is the ideal signing for Manchester United

Veteran striker Mandzukic in action for Juventus

Speaking on his former club's 2019-20 season, Hargreaves told BT Sport;

“Defensively they [Manchester United] were one of the better teams in the league, but in terms of goalscoring they were way behind Liverpool and [Manchester] City."

He continued,

“You can do with a 20-goal scorer but I think I’d take Jadon [Sancho] first and then maybe get [Mario] Mandzukic on a free.”

The Croatian is one of the most experienced strikers currently available on the market and could be a free signing as he is now without a club. Mandzukic has the experience of playing for several top clubs as well, including Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, and more recently, Juventus.

10 - 10 out of 20 Mario Mandzukic's Champions League goals have been headed. Eagle.

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) April 11, 2018

His pedigree stretches beyond domestic competitions as he has a catalogue of goals scored in critical moments in Europe, as well as for Croatia on the international front. He's recorded 21 UEFA Champions League goals and six assists in 60 appearances, including an absolute blinder of a strike in the final for Juventus against Real Madrid.

Manchester United's current back-up striker, Odion Ighalo, will depart in January

The 34-year-old was rumoured to be in talks to sign for Manchester United last year, but the move did not materialise. He then moved onto the Middle East, singing for Al Duhail on a free transfer. However, Mandzukic ended his contract with the Qatari club just over five months after joining.

With Odion Ighalo's loan spell coming to an end in 2021 January, Solskjaer could be short on numbers in attack. More importantly, a signing like Mandzukic could potentially provide Manchester United with an alternative way to attack, given the Croat's prowess in the air and vast experience.

2 - Mario Mandzukic is just the second player in World Cup history to score a goal for his side and an own goal in a single game, after Ernie Brandts for the Netherlands versus Italy in 1978. Quirk.#WorldCupFinal #WorldCup #CRO #FRA pic.twitter.com/W1geg7lstV

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 15, 2018

Manchester United are also widely expected to complete the signing of Sancho from Borussia Dortmund in a mega-money €120m deal shortly.

Jack Grealish of Aston Villa, Donny van de Beek of AFC Ajax and Gabriel Magalhaes of LOSC Lille have all been tipped as targets that Manchester United could be set to pursue this year.

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