Man Utd to accept eye-watering loss after ‘cut-throat’ Amorim sours on big-money buy

Manchester United have plans in place for a big summer window after a quiet January and striker Rasmus Hojlund could be one player who leaves, with a cut-price sale on the cards.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been cost cutting since taking charge of the Red Devils and offloading players who aren’t part of Ruben Amorim’s long term plans is a big part of that.

Man Utd managed to send Marcus Rashford, Antony and Tyrell Malacia out on loan – Rashford and Malacia’s loans to Aston Villa and PSV Eindhoven respectively include options to buy, whereas Antony’s to Real Betis does not.

Amorim is described as ‘cut throat’ by sources and he does not hesitate when deciding to move on players who he feels are not at the required level.

A new striker is a priority for Amorim in the summer and that is why Man Utd are seriously considering parting ways with Hojlund.

Hojlund has failed to live up to expectations since his £72m (including add-ons) move from Atalanta in the summer of 2023. The 22-year-old certainly has potential, but has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League.

TEAMtalk understands that several Serie A sides are keeping tabs on his situation ahead of the summer and there is a good chance he will be on the move in the coming months, with the Red Devils willing to sanction a cut-price sale for just £40m.

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Man Utd willing to make a loss on Rasmus Hojlund – sources

Sources state that Juventus have shown interest in Hojlund. They are likely to lose striker Dusan Vlahovic in the summer and are already looking at potential replacements.

Vlahovic is under contract until 2026 and negotiations over an extension with Juventus are at a standstill. As we reported, they would have considered selling Vlahovic in January had they been able to sign a replacement.

Arsenal have been linked with a move for the Serbian international in the past but their top striker target for the summer at this stage is RB Leipzig star Benjamin Sesko.

Vlahovic is open to taking on a new challenge in the Premier League. Juventus manager Thiago Motta views him as an important squad player, but Paris Saint-Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani is currently ahead of him in the pecking order.

We understand Juventus could swoop in for Hojlund should they sell Vlahovic. The Man Utd striker was highly rated in Italy when playing for Atalanta and a number of other Serie A sides are keeping tabs on his situation, too.

Sources close to Man Utd have stated that they will accept a bid of £40m for Hojlund in the summer, as there is an acceptance that they will not be able to recoup what they paid for him.

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IN FOCUS: How Hojlund’s value has dropped since Man Utd move

By TEAMtalk’s Nathan Egerton.

United identified Hojlund as their top target in the summer of 2023 and were initially expecting to pay no more than £45million (€54m, $60.3m).

But they ultimately forked out an initial £64million (€76.3m / $79.5m) and another £8million (€9.6m/$9.9m) in potential add-ons to sign the striker from Atalanta.

It was a fee that raised eyebrows at the time, given the Denmark international scored nine goals in 32 Serie A appearances in his solitary season at Atalanta.

The big-money transfer also came 12 months after Atalanta paid a reported fee of just under £15million (€17.8m / $18.6m) to sign him from Austrian outfit Sturm Graz.

Hojlund initially struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League, failing to score in his first 14 appearances in the English top-flight.

He did impress in the Champions League and also enjoyed a promising second-half to the 2023/24 campaign, finishing his first season at United with 16 goals in all competitions.

But the 21-year-old has failed to kick on this term and his form has actually regressed, scoring just seven goals in 30 appearances in all competitions.

Just two of those seven goals have come in the Premier League, and he has failed to score in 37 of his 49 top-flight appearances for United.

Hojlund is also on a run of 13 games in all competitions without a goal, last hitting the back of the net in the Europa League win over Viktoria Plzen in December.

The striker was once deemed as ‘unsellable’ by United but the club have reportedly changed their stance and will now consider offers.

He still has plenty of potential to improve but his value has undoubtedly dropped in the last 18 months and United will struggle to recoup their original transfer fee.

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