French football expert Jonathan Johnson has made it clear that he still expects Manchester United to beat Paris Saint-Germain to the transfer of Rasmus Hojlund this summer.
PSG are also interested in the Atalanta striker, and have entered the running with a bid for the highly rated young Denmark international, though Johnson has written in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside that he feels the player would be better off moving to Old Trafford.
Hojlund would likely be under pressure to replace Kylian Mbappe at PSG, meaning the expectations on his young shoulders would be huge, though it might also be the case that he wouldn’t play as often as he would at Man Utd.
“PSG continue to be strongly linked with Rasmus Hojlund. He’s a fantastic talent, but I actually think he’s a better fit for what Manchester United are trying to do at this moment in time. The pressure on Hojlund would be massive if he was coming to PSG to replace Mbappe – he doesn’t have the same prolific record as some of the names mentioned above, such as Osimhen or Kane, or even Goncalo Ramos, who’s also been linked,” Johnson said.
“Still, the interest is genuine and L’Equipe now claim PSG have submitted an official bid. It’s hard to predict for sure, but my feeling is that Man United will end up beating PSG to his signature – he’d get the chance to play more at Old Trafford and become more of a key player straight away than he would at PSG, where he’d more likely be coming in with a view towards building around him in the future.
“And while Hojlund has great potential, it’s clear his asking price is pretty steep for someone of his track record. For a bit more money PSG could probably get a more established player with a more prolific record. I don’t really see PSG coming up with something that would be enough to see them beat United to Hojlund.”
The Red Devils will no doubt hope Hojlund ends up choosing them, but one imagines PSG would also be a tempting destination for the youngster as he plans out the next step in his career.
While the Premier League will surely be tempting for Hojlund, he might also feel he’d like the chance to compete for bigger trophies at the Parc des Princes, which seems a safer bet than at United, even if they have made progress under Erik ten Hag.