Manchester United want to complete "everything on the player side" with Rasmus Hojlund before making an official bid, but the deal is "absolutely on", per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.
Is Rasmus Hojlund joining Manchester United?
The good news keeps coming for the United faithful this summer. After completing the £55m deal for full England international Mason Mount and the news that a deal to sign Inter Milan's Andre Onana is nearly completed, the club could be turning their attention to a brand new number nine in the shape of Danish international, Hojlund.
The 6 foot 3 titan made his debut for Serie A side Atalanta last season and has already been attracting the attention of clubs from across Europe, including the Red Devils.
According to The Guardian, Erik ten Hag's side have now turned their attention towards the 20-year-old striker, for whom they will be asked to pay a fee of around €70m (£60m).
The three-times European champions might want to get a move on if they're keen on the player, as Ligue1 champions and French Giants Paris Saint-Germain are also looking to sign the player, per Fabrizio Romano.
However, the Italian transfers expert has revealed that United are on the right track to make a bid fairly soon. He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
"After Onana, it's going to be time to focus on the striker. For Rasmus Hojlund, I told you Man United never made an official bid. They want to complete everything on the player side and then to attack the situation with Atalanta with official bids.
"They had some exchanges with Atalanta with the opportunity to offer some players into the deal, Atalanta said only money, something around €70m (£60m), this could be the realistic fee for Rasmus Hojlund.
"Let's see when Man United make the opening bid. At the moment, the idea of involving a player is not something Atalanta wants to do. They want real big money.
"Hojlund and Manchester United is absolutely on as a deal, but still not in an advanced stages."
How good is Rasmus Hojlund?
There has been an awful lot of hype and excitement around a player with only 32 appearances to his name in a top-five league, but is it warranted?
The first thing to say is that he had a brilliant debut season for Atalanta last year, scoring nine goals and assisting a further two in only 20 starts for the Bergamo outfit, averaging a match rating of 6.67, per WhoScored.
His underlying numbers help paint a complete picture of the player, showing that his good form is not in the slightest bit fortunate and that if given a chance, he would likely replicate his form for a top side.
According to FBref, who compare players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the Danish "monster" sits in the top 1% for progressive passes received, the top 7% for touches in the opposition's penalty area, the top 16% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 17% for successful take-ons, and the top 25% for progressive carries, all per 90.
He has certainly impressed his captain, Rafael Toloi, who said (via GOAL):
"Hojlund is a great talent, physically strong and with great speed. He has everything he needs to be great and is working with the right coach and with the right team."
With the arrival of Onana looking more and more likely, the addition of Hojlund would make United one of the most intimidating sides in the league. Maybe Ten Hag is closer to bringing back the glory days than people first thought.
