Manchester United is still struggling to find the right offer to bring Rasmus Hojlund to the club. This transfer plan is on the verge of failure.
Hojlund is the second target pursued by Manchester United. Previously, they were interested in signing Harry Kane from Tottenham.
The plan failed as Tottenham set an exorbitant price. Manchester United then shifted their focus to the Atalanta striker.
Initially, Manchester United hoped to acquire Hojlund at a lower price. However, the 20-year-old player has a high price tag that is difficult to meet.
Previously reported, Manchester United submitted two offers to Atalanta. Neither of the offers was satisfactory.
Manchester United opened the bidding at €35 million. The second offer was slightly raised to €45 million.
None of these offers received a positive response from Atalanta. The club hopes to receive a payment in the range of €80 million.
Due to the high price, The Athletic reported that Manchester United is exploring other options. One of them is offering a player exchange.
In the third offer package, Manchester United proposed cash along with a player. The amount and identity of the player were not mentioned.
However, Atalanta rejected it once again. Their preference is for a cash-only transfer for Hojlund.
This transfer plan is on the verge of failure as Atalanta has reportedly raised the price tag for Hojlund. According to the same report, Atalanta is now asking for €100 million.
For Manchester United, whose transfer budget is limited and still needs to find players in other positions, they cannot meet Atalanta’s demands.
One of Manchester United’s agendas in the summer 2023 transfer window is to buy a new striker.
This is because the Red Devils lack quality strikers.
Manchester United relied solely on Marcus Rashford, who primarily plays as a winger, to score goals during the 2022-2023 season.
Meanwhile, their native striker, Anthony Martial, and loaned player, Wout Weghorst, failed to perform well in the Red Devils’ frontline.
As a result, Manchester United has actively moved to acquire a new striker this summer.
One of the players targeted by Manchester United is Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund.
Manchester United is reportedly interested in signing Hojlund because he is seen as a goal scorer.
However, several top European talent scouts have pointed out one weakness that could be detrimental to Manchester United.
That weakness is Hojlund’s finishing ability, which is not on par with Erling Haaland.
“He hasn’t proven himself yet, and the Premier League is a very unforgiving place, especially when you wear the Manchester United jersey,” said an unnamed top European talent scout, as quoted by BolaSport.com from Goal International.
“He is left-footed, strong, and therefore there will inevitably be some comparisons with [Erling] Haaland, but he is not in the same league.”
“Hojlund’s statistics do not come close to Haaland’s, and his finishing can be inconsistent,” added the top European talent scout.
As known, Hojlund is considered similar to Haaland due to his physicality.
This advantage allows the Danish star to maintain ball possession and wait for his teammates to find space.
It’s no wonder that Manchester United is interested in signing Hojlund to strengthen their frontline.
Manchester United’s efforts to acquire the Danish star seem to be progressing smoothly.
The club, based at Old Trafford, reportedly reached a personal agreement with Hojlund, according to Sportsmole, as quoted by BolaSport.com.
After securing a personal agreement with Hojlund, the Red Devils only need the green light from Atalanta regarding the transfer fee.
Still from Sportsmole, Manchester United reportedly made a transfer fee offer of €40 million or around IDR 665 billion to acquire Hojlund.
Unfortunately, the offer above is likely to be rejected by Atalanta.
This is because Atalanta is demanding a higher payment.
Atalanta is known to ask for a fee of €60 million or around IDR 997 billion for Hojlund.
Manchester United’s efforts to sign a new striker and Rasmus Hojlund’s dream of playing at Old Trafford seem to be hindered by Atalanta’s stubborn stance.
According to news revealed by Laurie Whitwell from The Athletic, the Serie A club demands a fee of up to €100 million, or £85.5 million, or IDR 1.66 trillion for the Danish international striker.
Even Atalanta firmly rejected the cash plus player offer, as they only wanted cash from the sale of Rasmus Hojlund, and at a price that is more than twice his market value.
Laurie Whitwell reported via The Athletic that Manchester United offered cash plus a player to acquire Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta.
However, the offer was rejected by Atalanta, who refused the offer as they only wanted cash and mentioned the price they demanded, which is worth IDR 1.66 trillion.
Discussions about Rasmus Hojlund coincided with negotiations for Andre Onana as Manchester United tried to sign both of them with a limited transfer budget due to FFP, which is only IDR 2 trillion.
Honestly, the price demanded by Atalanta is completely unreasonable for a player who only scored 10 goals for the club in 34 appearances last season after his arrival from Sturm Graz.
Rasmus Hojlund was signed just last year for a price of only IDR 300 billion, and while his market value has now increased, it is only worth around IDR 782 billion.
With limited experience, minimal achievements, and no guarantee of promising prospects, valuing a 20-year-old player at €100 million or IDR 1.66 trillion is an absurd price.
The term “United Tax” is well-known in European football, referring to the inflated transfer values of players when Manchester United is interested in signing them.
Therefore, with Rasmus Hojlund now valued beyond reason, Manchester United fans are starting to suggest Erik ten Hag consider other options, such as the affordable transfer of Mehdi Taremi and a loan move for Joao Felix.
That would align with the remaining budget of the club after the signings of Mason Mount and Andre Onana, as the Iranian striker is valued at only IDR 333 billion, and some of the budget could be used to loan the Portuguese forward from Atletico Madrid.
