If you want to know just how valuable goalscorers have become now, just look at Ivan Toney. A striker who hasn't played since May last year and has 18 months left on his contract is being valued at £100million by Brentford, because they know how desperate big clubs are for forwards who are reliable in front of goal.
That kind of price tag might not deter Arsenal and Chelsea, two of the big six who find themselves in need of a striker, the former to sustain a title challenge and the latter to start putting away some of the chances Mauricio Pochettino's side are creating.
Those clubs might also feel the time to strike is now. If Liverpool lose Mohamed Salah this summer then they will need a new forward, while Manchester United will also be in the market for an attacker.
United and Dortmund working on final details of Sancho loan
United got it right with contract extensions and must now sell
Despite suggestions to the contrary, Anthony Martial is entering the final straight of a disappointing Old Trafford career. He will leave this summer when his contract expires.
The Frenchman has been absent for three weeks now but the burden before that was falling on Rasmus Hojlund this season. Erik ten Hag will hope Hojlund's moment of ecstasy on Boxing Day gives lift-off to his United career after his £72m summer move from Atalanta.
That Hojlund arrived as the leading man in attack, rather than a young player getting time to develop behind another reliable scorer, was a failure of United's recruitment. But how the Dane fares in the next six months will condition what they do in the transfer window this summer.
By then, INEOS will have a new structure in place for football decisions and perhaps a new sporting director. It's a
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