Man Utd charged $110 million for 20-year-old striker

Italian club Atalanta demanded $110 million when Man Utd asked to buy Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund.

In the context of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial often injured, Jadon Sancho, Antony not meeting expectations, coach Erik ten Hag's priority in the summer transfer window of 2023 is to bring in a top-class striker. According to British newspaper Sportmail , Man Utd opened negotiations with Atalanta at the beginning of the week about the Hojlund deal.

The English club has a certain advantage because the Danish striker has just signed a short-term contract with SEM - the company that represents Ten Hag. The Dutch coach also highly appreciates the potential of Hojlund - the striker is only 20 years old and can develop strongly.

Hojlund is considered a suitable target for Man Utd in the long term, because he has proven his talent at the highest level and is very young. Photo: AFP — Hojlund is considered a suitable target for Man Utd in the long term, because he has proven his talent at the highest level and is very young. Photo: *AFP*

Man Utd hoped to sign Hojlund for $60 million, but Atalanta considered this an "insult". The Italian club believes that a fee of $110 million is more reasonable in the current market, because there are not many quality strikers and Hojlund has four years left on his contract. The fact that Chelsea are also negotiating is another reason for Atalanta to ask for a club record fee for the sale - currently owned by center-back Cristian Romero when he joined Tottenham for $57 million.

Hojlund was born in 2003 in Copenhagen and began his professional career at his hometown club in 2020. In the 2021-2022 season, he debuted in European competitions, scoring five goals in the Europa Conference League. In January 2022, Hojlund joined Austrian club Sturm Graz for a fee of $2 million, scoring 12 goals in 21 matches in all competitions for the remainder of the 2021-2022 season and the beginning of the 2022-2023 season.

In August 2022, Hojlund joined Atalanta for $20 million. The 1.91 m striker made a strong impression on coach Gian Piero Gasperini, gradually taking over the starting position from his senior Duvan Zapata and scoring 10 goals, assisting four in 34 Serie A matches. At the national team level, Hojlund scored five goals in four matches.

Man Utd initially targeted Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen. But they pulled out of the negotiations when Kane was asked for $125 million and felt Tottenham were not willing. Osimhen was even asked for a higher fee by Napoli and was considered a risky deal.

So Man Utd are turning to young, budget-friendly strikers. In addition to Hojlund, Ten Hag is highly rated by Brighton's 18-year-old Republic of Ireland striker Evan Ferguson. But according to Sportmail , Ferguson wants to continue his development under Roberto de Zerbi, at least until January 2023. Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt), Goncalo Ramos (Benfica) and Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus) are other Man Utd targets.

In addition, the Old Trafford owner had his $50 million offer for Mason Mount rejected by Chelsea and was competing with Bayern to sign Napoli center-back Kim Min Jae. Man Utd also wanted to buy a goalkeeper to create competition with David de Gea, as they prepared to push Dean Henderson to Nottingham Forest.

Hong Duy

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