Man Utd lodge bid for bulldozing striker, as Ten Hag acts fast to leave Euro giant stranded

Man Utd have seen an opening bid for Rasmus Hojlund rejected by Atalanta, though with the valuation gap small and their man rival stuck, a move is there for the making, per a report.

Mason Mount looks set to be the first major arrival at Old Trafford this summer. A £60m fee has been agreed with Chelsea, with Mount one of three dream signing Erik ten Hag craves.

The others, according to ESPN, are Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana and Tottenham talisman Harry Kane.

However, with ESPN reporting money is tight, financing a move for a player of Kane’s calibre – even though he only has one year left on his deal – will be difficult.

Perhaps with that in mind, news from Italy claims Man Utd have made their move for a back-up target who can be signed for a much cheaper fee.

Atalanta and Denmark striker, Rasmus Hojlund, is the man in question, with Corriere dello Sport claiming a €35m has been lodged.

RASMUS HOJLUND: Why Manchester United want the striker and everything you need to know about him

That equates to roughly £30.1m and per the report (as cited by Football Italia), Atalanta have rejected the bid. Instead, the Serie A side hope to generate ‘at least €45m’ (approx. £38.7m).

If United’s transfer team can work their magic and convince Atalanta to sell for €45m, it means a bid of just €10m (£8.6m) more can seal a deal.

Hojlund, 20, has widely been reported to be on Man Utd’s reserve list of striker targets this summer. Kane and Napoli’s Victor Osimhen are believed to be favoured, though both will cost far greater sums to sign.

Hojlund is catching the eye of Juventus as well as Man Utd on the back of a breakthrough campaign that was split between Sturm Graz and Atalanta.

Indeed, the imposing centre-forward scored 16 and assisted seven across all competitions. He’s also plundered six goals in six games since making his senior debut for Denmark last September.

Juventus know up close and personal what Hojlund is capable of having seen the striker develop in Serie A last season. Per Corriere, the Turin club want to sign Hojlund too, though can’t make a formal bid until they’ve offloaded Dusan Vlahovic.

The idea of making a deal viable by including a makeweight is floated in the piece. However, those types of deals very rarely materialise and it stands to reason Atalanta would prefer to recoup a larger fee and also avoid selling to a domestic rival.

As such, and with Juventus stuck until Vlahovic leaves, Man Utd are well positioned to land Hojlund if they’re willing to meet Atalanta’s €45m-plus demands.

READ MORE: Man Utd transfer on brink of collapse, as Ten Hag fumble sees patience run out and alternative targets considered