There were eyebrows raised when Manchester United decided to splash an initial £64 million to land Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta in the summer of 2023.
The reason was that the Dane had managed only nine goals in his solitary season at Bergamo and Gian Piero Gasperini’s side had paid less than £15 million to acquire his signature from Austrian outfit Sturm Graz in 2022.
The Denmark international emerged as the club’s top scorer in all competitions with 16 goals and expectations were sky-high ahead of his sophomore campaign in England.
But this season has been an unmitigated disaster for the 22-year-old who has only scored twice in the Premier League and has not scored in his last 14 appearances including against Leicester City in the FA Cup on Friday.
Hojlund has struggled in his second season at United
Apart from the goals drying up, he has looked devoid of any confidence up front, regularly failing to hold on to the ball under pressure while his first touch has let him down on numerous occasions.
All in all, it looks like he has regressed and new head coach Ruben Amorim is far from impressed and has effectively placed the United No 9 on trial until the end of the season.
Hojlund was deemed unsellable not too long ago but INEOS are now “prepared for a cut-price sale” next summer but the only problem is they will have to “accept” a “significant loss” on the club’s initial outlay.
As per reports in Italy (as relayed by F365), Juventus are in “pole position” as they mull over a summer approach with Dusan Vlahovic looking like he will leave Turin.
“This situation has led Manchester United to reassess the player’s future. According to sources close to the club, the Red Devils would be willing to accept offers of around £40 million, despite knowing that they would have to make a significant loss on their initial investment.
Juventus eyeing his signature
“Among the clubs interested in Hojlund is Juventus, who could make a move in the summer if Dusan Vlahovic leaves Turin.
“The Serbian striker, under contract until 2026, is at the centre of market speculation, with several Premier League clubs, including Arsenal, ready to make an offer.”
As previously relayed by The Peoples Person, Hojlund also has admirers in the Premier League with West Ham also monitoring proceedings with interest.
Amorim will hope the Danish striker can regain his form in the second half of the campaign, especially with INEOS failing to strengthen the team’s attack in January.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
