“He is a proven winner, he has 121 goals to his name, and he has a €75m release clause that we are ready to trigger. INEOS chiefs were in the stands to see him destroy Barcelona, and they are serious about making him our new No. 9 this month”, internal reports confirm Man Utd’s ‘Spain Mission’ for the Spanish Diego Forlan

The Forlan Blueprint: United’s INEOS-Led “Spain Mission” to Secure a €75m Goal-Scoring Heir

In the relentless pursuit of a solution to English football’s most enduring and expensive puzzle—the Manchester United centre-forward role—the club’s new sporting leadership is poised to execute a move of both stark symbolism and ruthless intent. According to compelling internal reports, the INEOS regime is not merely scouting potential candidates; they have embarked on a decisive “Spain Mission,” with their sights locked on a singular, prolific target. The objective is clear: to secure a proven, battle-hardened winner, a goal machine with a predatory instinct, and a player whose profile evokes the spirit of a former cult hero who once tormented Liverpool with breathtaking flair.

The target is a striker whose credentials are being presented as the antidote to years of false dawns. **”He is a proven winner, he has 121 goals to his name,”** the reports state, establishing a tangible record of consistent, elite-level production. This is not a promise of potential, but a CV of accomplishment. The reference point for this Spanish sharpshooter is tellingly nostalgic and specific: he is described as the **”Spanish Diego Forlan”**—a nod to the Uruguayan who, after a slow start at Old Trafford, blossomed into a world-class, two-time European Golden Shoe winner whose technical brilliance and fierce competitiveness left an indelible mark.

The mechanism for this ambitious raid is not a protracted negotiation, but a surgical financial strike. **”He has a €75m release clause that we are ready to trigger,”** the intelligence confirms. This reveals a strategy of maximum efficiency. United, under INEOS, are identifying a clear contractual exit route and preparing to activate it decisively, circumventing drawn-out haggling and sending an unambiguous message of financial resolve and strategic clarity.

This is not distant speculation. The presence of **”INEOS chiefs were in the stands to see him destroy Barcelona”** transforms this from a rumor into a live operation. To have the club’s ultimate decision-makers personally witness a dominant, defining performance against European aristocracy is the strongest possible signal of serious intent. It was not a scout’s report they were verifying; it was a visceral, first-hand audition on the grandest stage.

The conclusion of the report leaves no room for ambiguity regarding timing or purpose: **”they are serious about making him our new No. 9 this month.”** This is a January manifesto. The player in question—while unnamed, fits the profile of a striker like **Álvaro Morata** (experienced, prolific in Spain and Italy, with a proven release clause), or more tantalizingly, the irrepressible **Artem Dovbyk** of Girona, whose physicality, finishing, and astonishing rise mirror the “Forlan-esque” narrative of a late-blooming force.

The “Proven Winner” Mandate: A Rejection of Project Striker

The emphasis on a “proven winner” with over 120 career goals is a direct repudiation of the “project striker” model that has yielded inconsistent results. INEOS and United are seeking a finisher in his prime, a player whose game intelligence and cold-bloodedness in the box are already fully formed. This is a signing designed for immediate, transformative impact, not for development in three years’ time.

The Forlan Comparison: More Than Just Goals

The “Spanish Diego Forlan” tag is deeply evocative. It suggests a player who is more than a penalty-box poacher. Forlan was a complete forward: technically sublime, capable of the spectacular, fiercely competitive, and possessing a warrior’s mentality. To seek a successor in that mould is to desire a striker who can be the emotional and technical fulcrum of the attack, a leader who elevates those around him with both his quality and his will.

The INEOS Method: Scouting, Clause, Execution

This potential move exemplifies the new modus operandi. It is data-led identification (121 goals), validated by in-person, high-stakes executive scouting (the Camp Nou), and executed with financial precision (triggering a set clause). It is a stark contrast to the scattergun, reactive spending of recent windows.

Conclusion: A Statement Signing for a New Era

The “Spain Mission” is more than a transfer pursuit; it is the first major test of the INEOS football project’s ambition and competence. Securing a €75m, ready-made “proven winner” as the new No. 9 in January would be a thunderous statement of intent.

It would signal that United are no longer shopping in the market of hope, but in the realm of guaranteed returns. They are not just buying a striker; they are attempting to buy back the certainty, the fear factor, and the iconic status that has been missing from their number nine shirt for over a decade. In seeking their “Spanish Forlan,” INEOS are not chasing a memory—they are aiming to purchase a new, defining legend for a club starving for a hero to lead its line. The mission is clear, the target is identified, and the trigger is poised. The only question that remains is whether they can complete their objective and finally solve the puzzle that has plagued Old Trafford for a generation.