Erik ten Hag is desperate to sign a striker this summer as Manchester United risk going into the season with only Anthony Martial leading the line after Cristiano Ronaldo had his contract mutually terminated last year while Wout Weghorst left at the end of his loan deal.
Martial scored only six goals in 21 Premier League games last season, so United need to upgrade in this department and Rasmus Hojlund has emerged as a prime target. The 20-year-old scored 16 goals with seven assists from 42 games for Atalanta BC in 2022/23 and looks to have a bright future.
Man United have already had a bid rejected for Hojlund, but Wayne Veysey of Football Insider they’ve returned with a more lucrative offer that could turn Atalanta’s head. The report says United have offered three first-team players plus money in a player-plus-cash swap deal to sign the Danish international.
According to Football Insider, Hojlund is keen to join Man Utd and has agreed personal terms ahead of a move to Old Trafford, but Atalanta want cash-only for his signature. United are being mindful of their spending and need to offload outcasts to generate transfer funds for new arrivals, but a part-exchange for Hojlund may not work.
Potential
The 20-year-old joined Atalanta from Sturm Graz in 2022, having scored 12 goals with four assists for the Austrian side before making the switch to Serie A. At another former club, FC Copenhagen, he scored 15 goals in 27 games for the U19s and five goals in five starts for the first-team, so he’s been prolific at multiple clubs in his career.
That’s not even mentioning the six goals in six games Hojlund has for the national team too, so it’s little wonder United are trying to sign him. But until they meet Atalanta’s demands by putting up a lot of money, it’s unlikely they’ll have success luring him to Old Trafford.
According to James Marshment of TEAMtalk, United believed they could sign Hojlund for €60m (£51.5m) but the Italian club actually want close to €100m (£86m) for the 20-year-old. They’ve rejected a €40m (£34m) bid already, so United need to step things up.
