Manchester United appear to be on the brink of signing an £86 million-rated forward as Erik ten Hag's revolution continues at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils set out at the start of the transfer window to repair the spine of their squad, with a goalkeeper, centre-back, midfielder and striker targeted. Mason Mount was the first to join for around £55m, with Inter Milan star Andre Onana next through the door in the coming days.
But while centre-back remains important to Ten Hag – Harry Maguire has just been stripped of the Manchester United captaincy ahead of a shakeup in the backline – a new forward is the priority.
The Telegraph are reporting that not only is Onana extremely close to completing his move to the 13-time Premier League winners, fellow Serie A superstar Rasmus Hojlund is next on the shortlist, with United set to move for the Dane next.
Atalanta are said to rate Hojlund as expensive as £86m, though there is hope from United's side that they can talk down the Bergamo outfit due to the player's lack of senior level experience.
Hojlund has drawn comparisons to Erling Haaland early in his career for his physicality and lethal eye for goal in the 18-yard box – and would enable Ten Hag to play with the kind of forward that he was used to at Ajax. In his final Eredivisie season, the 53-year-old used Ivorian hitman Sebastien Haller, while Wout Weghorst was drafted into Old Trafford on emergency loan last term.
"With Marcus Rashford set to sign a new five-year contract with United, Ten Hag is desperate to add more firepower in attack to ease the burden on the England striker and has identified Hojlund as a priority target after the club backed away from a move for Harry Kane amid serious doubts Tottenham would be prepared to sell to them," the report states.
Hojlund only signed for Atalanta last summer. He scored 10 goals in all competitions and only turned 20 in Febrary.
The forward is valued by Transfermarkt to be worth a figure of €45m.
More Manchester United stories
Manchester United transfer news is doing the rounds, with the Red Devils said to be in the market for several stars this summer.
Andre Onana is wanted in goal, Rasmus Hojlund and Randal Kolo Muani are wanted up front, while wonderkid Vitor Roque has been linked, too. Portuguese teen Joao Neves is on the radar, while his countryman Goncalo Ramos is in the crosshairs. United have also enquired about Theo Hernandez, while Jadon Sancho has been put up for sale.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford looks set to remain with a bumper new contract.
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