Following their agreement to buy Andre Onana to cover their goalkeeping position, Man Utd are currently concentrating on acquiring a striker. Given all the Hojlund-related developments, Serie A may also hold the key to finding a settlement in this case.
Tuesday’s rumors surrounding transfers suggested that Manchester United was nearing a deal to acquire the Atalanta striker. As the day went on, updates revealed that Hojlund wanted to join Man Utd and had so agreed to personal terms with them.
There is expected to be an opening bid of approximately €50 million (£43 million). Although it will be less than Atlanta’s asking price, Man Utd might be forced to undo all of their hard work.
According to the most recent reports from ESPN, Man Utd may reject a deal for Hojlund if Atalanta demand a €70 million (£60 million) transfer price, which they believe is excessive for a player with fewer than 100 professional games.
Furthermore, according to the most recent source, Erik ten Hag would rather sign Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani than Hojlund.
Last season, Kolo Muani scored 23 goals for his team whereas Hojlund only managed to score 10. Man United are therefore working on a separate agreement for the France international.
As PSG withdraws, Man Utd is interested in Kolo Muani.
However, in terms of value for money, a 24-year-old who has scored at least 10 goals in each of the last three seasons may be more deserving of a premium price than a 20-year-old who did so only once in the most recent campaign.
PSG has dropped their interest since they will not be able to pay the €100m valuation of Kolo Muani. But according to Sky Germany, Man Utd are still in the running.
That information, along with the ESPN update, seems to imply that Kolo Muani, rather than Hojlund, might be the person Ten Hag wants.
It is unclear, however, whether they will approve a nine-figure acquisition of Kolo Muani. Due to Napoli’s and Tottenham’s respective exorbitant asking costs, they have previously backed away from offers for Victor Osimhen and Harry Kane.
In other news, The Athletic has cautioned that Man Utd will wait before making any kind of significant approach for Hojlund, who is, ironically, revealed to also be a possibility for PSG.
Kolo Muani is still a candidate, according to David Ornstein’s report, although Manchester United continue to explore other options.