Mourinho eyes outrageous Man Utd raid with ‘first offer’ coming for ‘star’ name

Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce have set their sights on a struggling Manchester United player as one of two ‘star’ signings in a key position, according to shock reports from Turkey.

Mourinho can already call upon a couple of former Manchester United players in his Fenerbahce squad, namely midfielders Fred and Sofyan Amrabat. However, there are now rumours he could look to sign another to help transform another position. This time around, he wants a striker.

Man Utd are expected to bring in a new striker of their own this summer. Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee have both struggled to live up to expectations at Old Trafford and one might have to make way for an upgrade.

This is where Mourinho could come to Man Utd’s rescue, since Sozcu claims Fenerbahce are targeting an ambitious move for Hojlund.

Mourinho’s side want to sign two ‘star’ strikers this summer, it’s claimed, to compensate for the potential departures of Edin Dzeko, Youssef En-Nesyri and Cenk Tosun.

With that in mind, they are reportedly now targeting Hojlund – although their opening offer might not be to Man Utd’s taste.

According to Sozcu, Fenerbahce will make a ‘first offer’ of a loan with an option to buy. The report doesn’t say how much they’d be willing to pay for a permanent deal.

On the surface, it seems likelier that Man Utd would prefer to cash in on Hojlund if he’s out of their plans. They need player sales to balance the books.

Furthermore, there are other suitors for Hojlund, particularly back in Serie A where he used to play for Atalanta.

Rasmus Hojlund: Man Utd willing to sell

Last month, sources confirmed to TEAMtalk that Man Utd are willing to sell Hojlund – and Zirkzee – to fund their own attacking revamp this summer.

Man Utd are hoping to activate the £62.5m release clause of Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, but will also be wanting an out-and-out centre-forward of high pedigree.

In keeping with their focus on investing in young talents, they are in with a good chance of buying Liam Delap from relegated Ipswich Town. Whispers persist about more proven strikers being on Man Utd’s radar as well.

All in all, it doesn’t look too good for Hojlund, who has scored only four goals from 30 Premier League games this season, and 10 from 49 in all competitions.

That said, a move to Fenerbahce would be surprising. Although Mourinho is a former Man Utd manager himself, that was long before Hojlund joined the club.

The Denmark international did play against Fenerbahce earlier this season, as well as twice against Mourinho’s Roma in the 2022-23 season for Atalanta, but didn’t score in any of those games.

After the Europa League clash between Man Utd and Fenerbahce, Mourinho observed how Hojlund can allow a side to ‘attack the spaces’.

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What’s gone wrong for Hojlund at Man Utd?

By 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 eight goals in 42 appearances in all competitions.

Just three of those eight goals have come in the Premier League, and he has failed to score in 44 of his 56 top-flight appearances for United.

Hojlund went on a run of 21 games in all competitions without a goal between December, when he scored against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League, and March, when he ended his drought against Leicester City.

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.