The cost of Man Utd signing Rasmus Hojlund - Fabrizio Romano

Carlo Garganese

• 13 Jun 2023 08:38 BST
• 3 min read

Manchester United are accelerating their attempts to sign Atalanta wonderkid Rasmus Hojlund after realising that Harry Kane is an unrealistic prospect.

United have made the signings of a top-class striker their main priority for the summer transfer window.

Their two top targets until now have been Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen.

PROFILE: Who is Rasmus Hojlund?

However, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis is demanding an obscene amount for Osimhen in the region of €150 million.

As for Kane, the Daily Mirror report that United have come to realise that agreeing a suitable deal with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is unlikely.

As a result they are stepping up their plans to sign Hojlund, who has been labelled as the ‘new Erling Haaland’.

Haaland will be much cheaper than alternative targets but, according to Fabrizio Romano, he will still be pretty expensive.

How much will Hojlund cost?

"Hojlund is one of many names in Man United list, he’s appreciated," Romano wrote on Tuesday.

"The price tag is not confirmed yet but could be close to €60 million at least, some sources suggest.

"Many, really many top clubs sent their scouts to follow him this year including Chelsea."

Hojlund has exploded in 2023 as one of the most exciting young talents in European football.

He has scored 14 goals in the calendar year for club and country, having only turned 20 in February.

He has been compared to Erling Haaland. Just like Haaland, he stands at 6ft 4in and regularly bullies defenders physically, holding up the ball with his back to play expertly.

But he is also technically brilliant. Just like Haaland, he boasts a lovely left foot but also has the ability to dribble and run with the ball.

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini compared Hojlund to Gasperini himself a few months ago.

“Hojlund has this spirit, energy, intensity, but also technical quality that is just remarkable,” Gasperini said.

“He still has so much margin for improvement, too.

“He has very similar characteristics to Haaland, not just his face.

“He is so quick, he’s under 11 seconds over 100m and that’s not even trying very hard.

“Considering his height, he has a low centre of gravity and can move his legs very fast. I am convinced he’ll have a great career, he just gets stronger every day.”

A number of other big clubs such as Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Juventus have also been linked to Hojlund.