Manchester United's biggest transfer gamble of Erik ten Hag reign will influence season direction

Manchester United are poised to fill the vacancy that was the priority to fill before the summer transfer window began.

Rasmus Hojlund has headed over to Manchester for a medical ahead of his transfer from Italian side Atalanta to United. An overall deal of £72m has been agreed for the 20-year-old whose rise over the past year has been remarkable.

Some 12 months ago, Hojlund headed to Atalanta for around £15m. That followed spending only six months at Austrian side Sturm Graz.

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READ MORE: Why Manchester United won't regret signing Rasmus Hojlund instead of Harry Kane

It was abundantly clear last season as it wore on that United needed reinforcements in the centre forward department. Cristiano Ronaldo's abrupt departure in November and Wout Weghorst's loan stint from Janaury only temporarily filled the void.

Many names cropped up as being on the Old Trafford club's shortlist this summer. The likes of Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur and Napoli's Victor Osimhen appeared to be near the top, but the price each club has placed upon their respective prized assets has forced United into a different direction.

Kane is the finished article and is as close to a guarantee as there is to slotting in and contributing between 25 and 30 goals next season. Osimhen is not yet that at the age of 24, but after being Serie A's top scorer with 26 strikes would be an intriguing prospect in the Premier League.

That has meant United looking at other options and going down the potential route rather than more established stars. Randal Kolo Muani of Eintracht Frankfurt was among those, but United