Manchester United remain interested in signing Atalanta forward Rasmus Hojlund this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
What's the latest Man United transfer news?
As a potential takeover looms over Old Trafford this summer, bringing with it great uncertainty, Erik ten Hag may have to remain patient in the transfer window.
In a season that saw United finish third and win the Carabao Cup, the club's first silverware since 2017, the positive feelings that have been largely missing since Sir Alex Ferguson's departure arrived back at Old Trafford.
However, as is the way in football, things move on pretty quickly, with Ten Hag now expected to do bigger and better things next campaign. To achieve this, he will need some financial backing, but how much he will receive remains unclear.
One thing the Red Devils distinctly lacked last year was a centre-forward, a focal point. Wout Weghorst's emergency loan was far from fruitful and Anthony Martial's fitness issues kept him sidelined for far too many games.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Man United are strongly considering a big-money move for a new number nine, looking towards Atalanta and Denmark's Rasmus Hojlund as a potential solution.
"Mentioning the striker situation, two players are now being considered at Man United," declared Romano. "One is Rasmus Hojlund. I always told you about him, there is an interest on Manchester United side."
"He is represented by SEG agency, the same as Erik ten Hag, so there is this conversation about Rasmus Hojlund. But for Man United, it is crucial to understand the final price tag because at the moment Atalanta are asking around £70m for Rasmus Hojlund and Manchester United were hoping to pay less than this."
Romano adds that the Red Devils do not believe Hojlund is worth £70m and are therefore reluctant to match this valuation. As has been documented by their pursuit of Mason Mount, United are willing to stand firm this summer after years of overspending on players.
The same can be said of the club's interest in Harry Kane, which has since diminished due to the sizeable transfer fee required to sign the 29-year-old.
Is Hojlund ready for Old Trafford?
Considering Hojlund has only played 36 games at a club in a top-five league, it is understandable that United are not ready to put ridiculous sums of money on the table to sign the 20-year-old.
All of those came last season with Atalanta, with the Danish forward putting up 11 goals in those matches. Hojlund has also managed more goals than games in an admittedly small sample size at international level (six goals in five games).
The forward only arrived in Serie A in 2022, joining from Sturm Graz in Austria for just under £15m.
While United would clearly be paying for a talented youngster with an enormous potential, the riskiness of such a lucrative deal may not be worth the gamble for Ten Hag.
