Anwar El Ghazi played 119 times for Aston Villa (Photo: Getty)
Manchester United are considering making a shock move for a free agent and former Aston Villa forward, according to reports.
It comes amid uncertainty surrounding the futures of wingers Antony and Jadon Sancho, who don’t appear to available for at least the short-term future.
Antony has been granted a leave of absence by United in the wake of accusations of assault made by three women, accusations that the Brazil star firmly denies.
Sancho meanwhile is at odds with Erik ten Hag after the pair publicly criticised each other following the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat at Arsenal last week.
The player and manager met from crunch talks on Monday, but reports suggest they did not go well and that the England international is now looking to leave Old Trafford.
If both are out of the squad, it would leave Ten Hag perilously short in attack, with Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Facundo Pellestri the only senior stars who naturally play in the wide areas.
As a result, the Daily Mail has reported that United are weighing up offering Anwar El Ghazi a contract, with the Dutch winger currently a free agent having left PSV by mutual consent last week.
Antony and Jadon Sancho don’t appear to be available for Man Utd for the foreseeable future (Photo: Getty)
El Ghazi is best known to English fans for his time at Villa Park, where he scored 26 goals and made 16 assists in 119 games, and has also had spells with Everton, Ajax and Lille.
The 28-year-old also has offers from the Saudi Pro League however, so United will have to move quickly if they want to secure his services.
While not a poor player by any means, it does underline how seriously the club are concerned about losing Antony and Sancho that they have been forced to turn to a free agent like El Ghazi.
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Curiously, the two-time Dutch international was actually at the Emirates to watch the Gunners comeback win over the Red Devils.
United have won two and lost two of their opening four games this season and will be hoping for much better things when they return to action on Saturday against Brighton.
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Antony and Sancho don’t appear to be available for the forseeable future.