Manchester United and Erik ten Hag have seen their first striker offer of the summer transfer turned down as Atalanta rejected their £30m offer for talented forward Rasmus Hojlund.
A new no.9 is one of the biggest priorities of the transfer window for the Old Trafford side, who can currently only call on the injury-prone Anthony Martial to lead the line after Wout Weghorst’s loan ended at the end of the season.
However, after the agreement to sign Mason Mount it has been reported that the Red Devils have just £65m left in this summer’s budget to sign a striker, which has been described as ‘nowhere near enough’ to land any of their top targets.
With the likes of Harry Kane, Randal Kolo-Muani and Napoli star Victor Osimhen all off the table as a result, Ten Hag and co. have been forced to look elsewhere for reinforcements, and have identified Hojlund as a longer-term option, though there are concerns about his immediate ability to make an impact.
As per Corriere dello Sport, however, their first bid for the young Danish star has fallen well short of Atalanta’s demands. The Red Devils tabled a 35m euro bid for the 20-year-old, who only arrived in Serie A last season, but this was swiftly turned down by the Italian side, who are holding out for around 45m euros minimum to part with the man earning comparisons to Erling Haaland across Manchester.
There will be competition too, with Juventus eyeing up Hojlund as a potential option should they lose Dusan Vlahovic this summer amid interest in the Serb from across Europe.
