The Red Devils have made the striker position their no.1 priority this summer, with Wout Weghorst set to return to Burnley after his loan spell at the club and the future of the injury prone Anthony Martial still uncertain after he picked up yet another issue that kept him out of the FA Cup final.
They were expected to push hard for Tottenham striker Harry Kane, with the England striker out of contract next summer and unlikely to renew in north London. However, Spurs are keen not to sell Kane this summer, and even more so to avoid selling to a direct Premier League rival, leaving United scrambling for alternatives.
One of those is Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund, who has caught the eye in his first season with the Serie A side, scoring nine times in the top flight to help his side secure Europa League football next season.
Still just 20-years-old, the Dane remains a raw talent, but the Mirror report that United are ‘stepping up their interest’ in signing the highly-rated youngster this summer in a bid to add firepower to their ranks.
According to the Athletic, Hojlund is ‘eager to make the move to United now’ as they weigh up whether or not to pull the trigger on the Danish talent, with the youngster a self professed Manchester United fan.
“Now that you ask, I will not hide the fact that I am a huge Manchester United fan”, he explained earlier in the year.
“So personally, it would be one of the biggest things for me, but of course that doesn’t mean that I would turn down other big clubs if the offers come at some point.”
In a bid to lay the groundwork for the move, it is reported that ‘Ten Hag spoke to Hojlund by video call several weeks ago’ but that the Red Devils are not yet certain ‘whether he is ready for the Premier League’.
Should they opt to pull the trigger, it is thought that a deal would not be hard to agree with either player or club, as all parties would be keen to see it come to a swift resolution.