Manchester United have reportedly made their opening offer for Atalanta striker, Rasmus Hojlund.
United’s need to add a new striker to their ranks is glaringly obvious, with the club having struggled for goals at times last season, scoring just 58 times in the Premier League last term.
Marcus Rashford was the club’s top scorer with 30 in all competitions – including 17 in the league – while Anthony Martial spent most of the season on the treatment table and Wout Weghorst only scored twice during his loan spell following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo last November.
The Red Devils were linked with Harry Kane earlier in the window, but abandoned their pursuit of the England captain given Tottenham’s valuation, and have seemingly moved onto Atalanta’s Hojlund.
United have already confirmed the captures of Mason Mount and Andre Onana this summer, and according to Fabrizio Romano, the club have now sent a ‘first verbal proposal’ worth €60 million to the Serie A side for the Denmark international.
It is claimed that their bid is worth an initial €50m (£42.8m) plus an extra €10m (£8.5) in add-ons, though that would fall short of Atalanta’s valuation of €70 million (£59.9m)
The 20-year-old netted nine goals and provided four assists in 32 Serie A appearances for La Dea last season, while he has scored six in four European championship qualifiers for Denmark this year.
Hojlund has also attracted attention from PSG, though he would reportedly prefer a move to Old Trafford given his allegiance to the club.
“Now that you ask, I will not hide the fact that I am a huge Manchester United fan,” he said earlier this year. “So personally, it would be one of the biggest things for me, but of course that doesn’t mean that I would turn down other big clubs if the offers come at some point.”
Meanwhile, Atalanta are said to have reached an agreement in principle for a potential replacement for Hojlund, agreeing a deal with Spanish side Almeria for Mali forward El Bilal Toure, who has also attracted interest from Everton.
