After a slow start, Manchester United’s transfer window got a shot in the arm this week as two crucial deals were agreed.
Bryan Mbeumo’s arrival from Brentford was confirmed as Ruben Amorim finally got his man, and Marcus Rashford will be heading on a season-long loan to Barcelona to free up some space on United’s wage bill. Rashford’s departure is a reminder that getting players out of the door is as important as bringing new ones in.
The Englishman is the first of the five stars who have been exiled from the squad to secure a move, but such is the need to raise funds to continue the summer overhaul there are plenty of other players who could be sold who are currently getting pre-season minutes.
Hojlund in the frame
United were utterly toothless up front last season, with first-choice striker Rasmus Hojlund managing only four Premier League goals. Clearly this output is not good enough, and the young Dane has long been linked with a summer exit, most likely returning to Serie A.
It seems that he still has plenty of admirers in Italy, with Inter Milan, Juventus, AS Roma and AC Milan all thought to hold an interest in the player.
Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport reaffirm today that Hojlund is not in Amorim’s plans and would be happy to return to Italy, where he impressed at Atalanta before his big-money move to Old Trafford.
United change their stance
More significantly, the report claims that United are now open to a loan deal for the 22-year-old where they previously would only entertain a permanent sale.
Until a few days ago, Hojlund “could only be sold permanently” with a high asking price of some €45m as the Red Devils sought to avoid capital losses. But now “the situation has changed” after several “offers of interest” were not pursued and United are willing to accept a temporary transfer. Corriere dello Sport claim that any loan deal would contain “a mandatory buyout conditional on a Champions League qualification.”
It feels likely that the change of stance is primarily to accelerate an exit, rather than to keep the player on the books.
What next?
The report notes that, as ever, the wages United are paying narrows down the pool of potential suitors to just the biggest names.
Juventus, Inter, AC Milan and Napoli are the only ones credited as being able to afford the player, and the latter have already decided to go in a different direction by signing Lorenzo Lucca instead. Thus it is suggested that it’s a three-horse race for Hojlund, whose future is tangled up with Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic.
The Turin side are desperate to offload the Serbian centre-forward, who has been linked with a move to Old Trafford and even as part of a swap deal for Hojlund, who could also be a makeweight for a move for Douglas Luiz.
AC Milan are also a potential destination, and if they move for him then not only would they not go for Hojlund they could leave the path clear for Juventus to sign him, as they look to increase their options beyond new signing Jonathan David and expected arrival Randal Kolo Muani.
For a long time Inter seemed the most likely destination, but recently moved on and signed Ange-Yoan Bonny instead.
Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
