Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund has ‘promised himself’ to Manchester United and he is waiting to see whether the clubs can quickly reach an economic agreement, Corriere dello Sport report (page 22).
The Red Devils are currently focused on the purchase of goalkeeper Andre Onana from Inter Milan. United manager Erik ten Hag has urged the club to finalise the deal before the weekend.
Once that is complete, they are likely to prioritise a new striker, and it has already been reported that Hojlund is the prime target. United are considering an opening bid of £50 million.
Corriere dello Sport now claim that the Dane has already ‘promised himself’ to the Red Devils and is now waiting to see whether the club can finalise a suitable transfer deal with Atalanta.
The Serie A outfit have identified Almeria’s El Bilal Traore as his potential replacement.
United should make Hojlund approach soon
United’s director of football John Murtough prefers to work on one player at a time, and this approach has continued during this summer’s transfer window.
The club spent a couple of weeks negotiating with Chelsea before landing the services of Mason Mount.
They are currently going through a similar phase with Inter for Onana. The Red Devils are more than optimistic of securing the signature of the Cameroonian.
As soon as they reach an agreement for him, the focus could shift towards Hojlund, who has been identified as Ten Hag’s top striker target after Harry Kane.
With the high costs involved for Kane, United and Ten Hag believe Hojlund would be a favourable choice as he has the potential to develop immensely going forward.
The 20-year-old managed just 13 goal contributions in his debut season at Atalanta, but he only joined them in late August and needed time to adapt to their style.
Hojlund has all the attributes to become a leading striker in future. He has a strong aerial and physical presence alongside good pace in counter-attacking situations.
The Dane has also shown good vision inside the opposition box. Hojlund scored in every 204 minutes in Serie A last term, but he should improve with more experience.
In our view, United should sign him as soon as possible so that he can work with the team in pre-season.
Atalanta are looking for at least £60m (€70m) for Hojlund, but could be prepared to negotiate a lower fee, considering they would not want to miss out on Traore this summer.
Everton are also interested in landing Traore from Almeria. The Spanish outfit are willing to sell him for £17m up front with £17m in instalments. Atalanta need funds to sign him.
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