Manchester United appear to have found a temporary replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar is said to be on the verge of a transfer. Curious: Aboubakar comes from Ronaldo’s new club Al-Nassr FC.

Manchester United have been looking for a replacement for the departed Cristiano Ronaldo for several weeks. The rumor mill linked the club to European stars such as Victor Osimhen (24), Álvaro Morata (30) and Olivier Giroud (36). It now seems to be a much less prominent storm replacement.

As the Arabic medium OKAZ reports, Manchester United has made a loan offer for Vincent Aboubakar (30). The Cameroonian forward is at Saudi giants Al-Nassr FC, new home of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Red Devils would temporarily solve the storm problem with a half-year loan from Aboubakar. A bigger name could then move to Manchester in the summer.

This is contrasted with a report by Al Riyadh. The Saudi daily reports that Al-Nassr FC has terminated Aboubakar’s contract in order to register Ronaldo. The regulations of the Saudi league stipulate that a maximum of eight foreign players are allowed in a squad. Ronaldo would be the ninth legionnaire. According to the report, Al-Nassr FC has resolved the issue with Aboubakar’s contract termination. For United it would mean that a loan would no longer be possible.

Vincent Aboubakar took center stage as Cameroonian captain. The forward has scored two goals and contributed one assist in three group games. The 30-year-old knows Europe. Before moving to Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2021, the massive goalscorer played for Besiktas in Turkey, FC Porto in Portugal and FC Valenciennes and FC Lorient in France.

The model of a temporary storm solution at Manchester United brings back memories. In January 2020, when the Premier League club were short-handed in the attacking centre, they brought Nigerian Odion Ighalo (33) on a year-long loan from China’s SH Shenhua. At Old Trafford, the back-up scorer hardly got a chance. Ighalo has never started in the Premier League. He was only allowed to prove himself over a longer period of time in the Europa League and in the cup competitions. It is questionable whether Aboubakar would face a similar fate.

This article was originally published on 90min.com as Ronaldo replacement: Will Man United find what they are looking for at Al-Nassr? released.