An Atalanta side embolden by the big-money sale of Rasmus Hojlund now want at least £43 million for Giorgio Scalvini, if Manchester United want to reunite the former teammates in the Premier League.
To think, there were shades of Wayne Rooney’s coming-of-age display against Fenerbahce about the way Rasmus Hojlund tore into the Galatasaray backline on Tuesday night, ripping into the visitors like a ravenous tiger shark taking chunks out of a poor seal.
That was, of course, until his Manchester United team-mates somehow contrived to turn what should have been a breakthrough performance from the £64 million summer signing into the latest in an ever-growing collection of calamitous defeats.
If a misfiring attack was United’s biggest problem last term, then their error-prone defence is shaping up to be Erik ten Hag’s Achilles heel this. At least, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that United are already doing their due diligence on a number of defensive targets, some steps are already being taken to rectify a debilitating issue.
Man United eye Atalanta’s Giorgio Scalvini
And, inspired by Hojlund’s immediate and exhilarating impact, perhaps United will be tempted to go hunting in a familiar forest.
90Min report that Giorgio Scalvini – a former team-mate of Hojlund’s at Atalanta – was scouted by the Red Devils during Italy’s clash with Ukraine during the September international break.
As United found out the hard way, however, Atalanta are no pushovers. La Dea made a £47 million profit out of Hojlund after just one year of Serie A football.
And, emboldened by the sheer size of the fee they eventually managed to eke out of Man United, Tuttomercatoweb reports that a similar stance will be taken with Scalvini.
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Atalanta will demand up to £43 million in January, with around £38 million to be paid up front. They have already rejected a £26 million bid from Paris Saint-Germain in recent months.
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At 19, Scalvini is far from the finished article. Like with Hojlund, however, there is enough to be excited about from his 53 first-team appearances to justify such an investment. The 6ft 4ins Scalvini, who started out as a midfielder, boasts physicality and technical ability in equal measure, while picking up six Italy caps before his 20th birthday.
Breaking the Lines even compared Scalvini to United icon Jaap Stam. The teenager admitted a few months ago, meanwhile, that he would ‘like’ to play in the Premier League.
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