When Erik ten Hag sat down to plan his perfect summer transfer window, his Manchester United attack would have featured a proven Premier League goalscorer such as Harry Kane and a younger forward ready to develop, like Rasmus Hojlund.
But within a week of the transfer window opening it looks like United’s chances of landing Kane are already over and they are being held to ransom over a deal for 20-year-old Hojlund.
United would have expected to pay £86million to sign Kane, not a 20-year-old still learning his game. It is a sign of the modern transfer market and the lack of strikers available that Atalanta have felt emboldened enough to put a €100million price tag on a forward who scored nine goals in 32 Serie A games this season.
Hojlund looks like a talent, but he’s not ready to be leading the line for United. That price is the beginning of a negotiation, of course, but it’s double what United might have felt was an acceptable fee for the forward.