Manchester United tried to include two of their players as part of a proposed swap deal for striker Rasmus Hojlund.
The Danish international joined the Red Devils from Atalanta this summer for a transfer fee of £72.9 million (€85m). The 20-year-old scored his first goal for the club in the Uefa Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich last week.
Although Man United agreed to pay out one of the biggest fees for an U21 player in Premier League history, they initially wanted to offset the cost of the deal by sending two players who Erik ten Hag deemed surplus to requirements to the Italian outfit.
That’s according to The Athletic, who report that Man United offered Donny van de Beek and Fred to Atalanta, but they were only interested in a straight cash deal.
Fred ended up joining Fenerbahce in a transfer worth a reported €10 million plus €5m in add-ons. Van de Beek remains at Old Trafford after the club failed to shift the Dutch midfielder in the summer transfer window.
The 26-year-old, who played under Ten Hag at Ajax, is yet to make an appearance for United this season after only playing ten times in all competitions last term.
According to reports in Spain, Villarreal are interested in signing Van de Beek and could make a move for him in January.
Meanwhile, United have also opened talks with Hannibal Mejbri over a new contract, according to the Sunday Express. The Tunisian, who impressed on loan with Birmingham City last season, has made two appearances in the Premier League in 2023/24 and scored his first goal for the club in the 3-1 defeat to
