Man Utd warned of Hojlund hijack attempt by Romano

Tom Weber

• 20 Jul 2023 17:38 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United are moving swiftly to strike a deal for Rasmus Hojlund in order to keep this saga from devolving into a bidding war, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Red Devils' interest in the young Dane has been long established. Indeed, Erik ten Hag has been eyeing Hojlund for months as a potential target to finally fill the number nine spot which caused him so many headaches last term.

Already during the season, the Dutchman made in no uncertain terms clear that he would try to bring in a proper striker in this transfer window, but this has proved exceptionally tough to achieve.

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Hojlund has only recently become United's first-choice option in that position after the club was priced out of pursuing the likes of Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen due to this summer's restricted budget. Yet no deal has thus far been struck because the Manchester club had been baulking at Atalanta's asking price.

Now, however, Manchester United feel as though they must act quickly for fear of missing out on the 'next Haaland.'

What did Romano say?

According to Fabrizio Romano, Paris Saint-Germain have been in contact with Hojlund's camp for a while, which is unsettling the Red Devils. Therefore, they are finally "preparing their first bid," claims the transfer expert.

"I told you a few days ago," Romano continued, "that they had 100 per cent agreed terms with Rasmus Hojlund in terms of [the] contract, now they are preparing their first bid to Atalanta."

"Atalanta want around €70 million for Rasmus Hojlund. Manchester United will include some add-ons in their first bid Hojlund. They never sent any bid at this point, so it's going to be the first one."

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"I know there are some reports from Italy saying they already made a bid - no, they just had conversations with Atalanta [about] including some players like Fred, but Atalanta said no. So now, it's about Man United making a bid."

"But why would they make a bid? Because they know that Paris Saint-Germain...already had some contacts with the agents of Rasmus Hojlund more than one week ago and they are still in contact on the player's side."