Sometimes you just read the room wrong, and Atalanta’s €70m asking price for 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund, a player that hasn’t really made his mark in Serie A as yet, is likely to put off Man United from trying to acquire the Danish striker.
Indeed, according to ESPN, the Red Devils are looking at turning their attentions elsewhere if the Italian outfit won’t accede to what the Premier League club believe is a more realistic offer for their front man.
A striker has long been Erik ten Hag’s priority at Old Trafford, and even though Harry Kane would be his No.1 choice there’s little likelihood of Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, negotiating with a direct rival.
After having secured the services of Mason Mount and Andre Onana, it’s all systems go for a centre-forward that ideally has to be signed at the soonest possible opportunity.
With only three and a half weeks left until the start of the 2023/24 Premier League season, the need for the Dutchman to have his main striker in place is obvious.
To that end, ESPN are suggesting that, whilst they’ll test the waters with Atalanta and make a lower offer for Hojlund, United are working on a bid to acquire Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani.
The 24-year-old Frenchman scored an impressive 15 goals and provided 11 assists in just 32 games for the Bundesliga outfit according to WhoScored.