At long last, Atalanta and Manchester United have found common ground over Rasmus Hojlund’s move to the Premier League. According to Fabrizio Romano, the Red Devils made a decisive breakthrough in talks on Saturday night.
Man Utd will fork out an eye-watering €70 million package, featuring an upfront payment worth around €62m plus an additional €8m in various add-ons. Hojlund agreed to join Erik ten Hag’s feel on a five-year contract a fortnight ago, but Atalanta have played a hard bargain over his departure.
Gian Piero Gasperini’s decision to omit the 20-year-old from his squad in Saturday’s 3-1 friendly win over Bournemouth signaled something was going on behind the scenes. On top of that, Atalanta unveiled El-Bilal Toure as a club-record signing yesterday, shelling out €30m to lure him away from Almeria.
The 21-year-old comes in with high expectations. Hojlund set the benchmark high in his only season at Atalanta. But if Toure’s form in La Liga was anything to go by, Gasperini won’t be missing the Denmark international too much. Nonetheless, the time has come for the former Sturm Graz striker to move on.
Hojlund has been Man Utd’s top target after Tottenham Hotspur priced them out of a deal for Harry Kane. Napoli’s Victor Osimhen was another profile examined by Ten Hag. But the Partenopei’s exorbitant asking price forced them to pursue the Atalanta starlet.
Ten Hag has been in the market for a new center-forward since Cristiano Ronaldo left England to join Al-Nassr last winter. Let’s see how Hojlund will fit in.
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