There are strong suggestions from Italy that Manchester United and Atalanta are in non-stop negotiations over striker Rasmus Hojlund.
According to the reliable Aldredo Pedulla, the idea is to close the Hojlund deal by tomorrow when Atalanta play their pre-season friendly in Bournemouth.
It is believed that more talks were taking place today and they looked to have continued on into the night, with United seemingly keen to get the deal across the line to ensure Erik ten Hag has a new striker for the 2023/24 campaign.
A prospect at that.
Hojlund, 20, is one of the most exciting young strikers in Europe right now and he has already proven himself on the international stage.
The latest offer from the Reds is €62m plus €5m in bonuses, which is less than Atalanta’s demand of €68-70m plus €5m in bonus.
Let us know in the comments section if you think United are finally getting their man.
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Hopefully, this deal will be struck soon – it does at least seem close.
IMHO, we need a second striker, though. Martial won’t be fit for ~50% of the season and that’s too much to lump onto a young prospect like Hojlund. If Greenwood comes back (I have no idea if that will happen) then that might work.
Sancho as a false 9 isn’t sufficiently convincing (for me) but I hope Sancho continues to improve under Ten Hag. Then again, we had Wout Weghorst for half a season, so anything is possible (and anything would be better than that).