Man Utd ‘offered Fred and van de Beek’ to tempt Atalanta into Hojlund transfer
Man Utd complete signing of Rasmus Hojlund
Manchester United offered two players to Atalanta in a desperate attempt to offset Rasmus Hojlund’s hefty valuation. In the end, the Red Devils signed the Danish goal machine for £72million but there were serious concerns about the dent it would leave in their transfer budget.
United were handcuffed by Financial Fair Play regulations this summer. In July, UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body fined Man Utd £256,744 for a “minor breakeven deficit” and so the club had to remain cautious with their spending to ensure they didn’t receive any further sanctions.
After forking out £60m on Mason Mount and £47m on Andre Onana, club executives had serious reservations about spending excessive money on Hojlund. According to The Athletic, their financial woes led to them offering midfielders Donny van de Beek and Fred in a part exchange.
However, Atalanta rejected the proposal as they dug their heels in over the price. PSG had also shown interest in Hojlund and reportedly offered him a higher salary than United did.
But the 20-year-old was set on joining United. The pull of playing for the club he supported in his youth is said to be the overriding factor behind his decision.
“My father pushed it over my head, and I started following everybody around the club and of course, I was very into Premier League football and everything around it,” said Hojlund in his first interview with the club.
“So, I kept watching, and of course, Cristiano [Ronaldo] was my idol when he was playing back then, so I kept following him and of course kept following Manchester United.
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“Yeah, probably, we saw one of the pictures today [as a child in a United shirt]. I think that’s one of my first memories. I think one of the first memories I have in terms of watching a game was probably seeing them winning the Champions League [in 2008]. The penalty shootout against Chelsea.”
Hojlund has had a promising start to life at Old Trafford. After his debut was delayed due to a nagging injury, the young striker made his first appearance for the club as a substitute against Arsenal. Although he didn’t get on the scoresheet fans were impressed by his physicality and presence in the box.
It would only take him three games to find the back of the net for the Red Devils as he opened up the scoring for his side during their 4-3 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday.
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