
Rasmus Hojlund in Man Utd transfer U-turn as AC Milan look to sign frozen out striker
It's understood that Hojlund is considering his options after United splashed out over £200million on a new strike force this summer.
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Man Utd striker Rasmus Hojlund has had interest from AC Milan this week
Credit: Getty
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After a stellar pre-season performance in United's 4-1 win over Bournemouth in Chicago, Hojlund expressed his desire to stay and fight for a place in Ruben Amorim's 4-3-2-1 system.
But in the last fortnight the 22-year-old striker's fortunes have changed and U-turn in his camp could be imminent.
His long-term future was plunged into doubt last week after United signed striker Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £73.7million.
And on the day of Sesko's unveiling to 65,000 fans at Old Trafford last Saturday, Hojlund was an unused sub for the final pre-season friendly against Fiorentina.
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Despite being the only recognised striker in the team, Amorim played Mason Mount as a false No.9 in United's penalty shootout win over the Serie A side.
While United sources deny Hojlund has specifically been told he will not feature for United this season, his chances will be hard to come by.
With the Red Devils out of Europe this season, there will not be as many opportunities to play in their reduced schedule.
Hojlund, who signed for £72million from Atalanta in 2023, could be set for a return to Italy with AC Milan heading the queue of clubs interested.
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United would reportedly be willing to accept a loan deal worth £5million this season, with an option to buy next summer.
It's understood that AC Milan won't want to pay more than £35million for the Dane.
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As yet, no agreement has been made on either element as Hojlund has still to make a firm decision about his short-term future.
Boss Amorim has always spoken positively about Hojlund, whose deal expires in 2028 with an extension option available.
A stay at Old Trafford, would see Hojlund competing for a place with Sesko, Matheus Cunha, and Joshua Zirkzee.
If Hojlund snubs Milan, the Italian giants might move for Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson and Paris Saint-Germain's Uefa Super Cup hero Goncalo Ramos.
Hojlund struggled in his second season at the Red Devils and the United striker only netted 10 times and picked up four assists in 52 matches in the 2024-25 campaign.
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Scottish Sun
23 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
How Man Utd vs Arsenal will be decided by ‘Flying-V' attack battle – and will Sesko or Gyokeres have bigger impact?
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MANCHESTER UNITED and Arsenal lock horns at Old Trafford this weekend, aiming to get their respective seasons off to a flyer. Both sides have spent heavily this summer, including big money on new talismanic centre-forward figures that were ironically linked with the opposite clubs. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Man Utd and Arsenal lock horns at Old Trafford in the Premier League opening weekend Credit: Getty 7 But the likes of Benjamin Sesko could be a transformative figure for the United attack Credit: Getty 7 While Viktor Gyokeres will introduce new elements to Arsenal's attack as they aim for the title Credit: Alamy Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! The Red Devils' will have Benjamin Sesko, their £74million summer signing from RB Leipzig, leading the line supported by fellow new recruits Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. Meanwhile, the Gunners have introduced a cannon to their attack in the form of Viktor Gyokeres, with the ever-present Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard providing support. Both sides have their aim on bigger heights than last season, with United looking to bounce back from the lowest point in the Premier League era and Arsenal eyeing up that elusive league title. But how will the two teams line up tactically? READ MORE IN FOOTBALL MOR THE MERRIER Utd line up £50m move for Sporting's Morten Hjulmand if Baleba bid fails Thankfully, after 78 days, our Tactics Exposed show, sponsored by Betfair, has returned with SunSport's very own Dean Scoggins back at the table. Below we break down how the opening clash is drawing up between the two Prem titans, and analyse how the match could be decided between the impact of Sesko and Gyokeres. Who will have the bigger impact - Sesko or Gyokeres? Where better to start than with the new No9s. How the two sides will set up on paper is pretty well known to everyone: Ruben Amorim will line up in his trademark 3-4-3, while Mikel Arteta will run his side in their traditional 4-3-3 shape. BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK Thanks to their time together at Sporting Lisbon, Amorim will be intimately familiar with how effective Gyokeres can be. The 27-year-old - who scored 66 goals in 68 games under the Portuguese - will look to drive into the spaces behind the United defence. Cops probe gun plot linked to Arsenal's £64m Viktor Gyokeres signing after double shooting at home of agent's relative This was something Arteta's side desperately missed last season, with top scorer Kai Havertz seeing his season end early through injury. In the pre-season clash against Athletic Bilbao, Gyokeres was perfectly comfortable coming deep to link play, and that will free up space for the likes of Saka and Gabriel Martinelli to burst beyond him. This in turn will create a shape like a flying V, with the introduction of the former Coventry ace making Arsenal's attack much tighter. Last season, Arsenal could have certainly been accused of being too slow in getting the ball forward, but this year that is all set to change with the £64m up top. Gyokeres will be able to batter down low blocks by either running behind them or coming deep and attracting defenders, opening up space for his team-mates to exploit with runs from deep or direct passes from the likes of William Saliba or David Raya. In terms of the hosts, after Rasmus Hojlund's disappointing year, a new ace with confidence still in him will do the misfiring United attack the world of good. 7 Starting off with the obvious, at 6ft 5", Sesko is a giant who also happens to have one hell of a leap and the pace to match. We haven't seen him in action in a Red Devils shirt yet due to his arrival on being announced last week, but what we can expect is for the home side to also deploy a flying V of their own. But this will be an inverse to Arsenal's V, with Sesko acting as the tip of the spear ahead of Mbeumo and Cunha and the wing-backs and Bruno Fernandes behind them in support. With the lack of a ball-playing midfield addition - needed due to United's slow and tame build up play which saw them often lose the ball in the first third - United will want to go direct into Sesko a lot. United have actually already seen the perfect tactical blueprint to expose the Arsenal defence by Paris Saint-Germain last season, with Ousmane Dembele's goal against them in the Champions League. PSG emptied the midfield area to attract the defence out wide, which then made Dembele an free option to pass to as he ran through the middle. In contrast to Arsenal's bombing attacking runners, United's idea will be to get the attack isolated one on one against defenders to then open space for the spare man spinning behind, as is expected of wing-backs Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu through third-man runs. Will the 3-4-3 bear fruit? Man Utd's transfer deals IN Bryan Mbeumo - from Brentford - £71m Matheus Cunha - from Wolves - £62.5m Diego Leon - from Cerro Porteno - £7m Benjamin Sesko - from RB Leipzig - £74m TOTAL - £214.5m OUT Victor Lindelof - released Christian Eriksen - released TOTAL - £0m MAN UTD TRANSFER NEWS LIVE Last season it is safe to say Amorim's system flattered to deceive, even if you want to put it down to a lack of personnel who fit the system. But will it be different this time around? It's the million pound question, but the 3-4-3 has actually shown glimpses of taking on a new form in pre-season for United. This year we can expect to see far more flexibility in the system, even if they set up in a 3-4-3 on paper. Rotations will be the key term, with the wing-backs creating a swing effect as one wing-back pushes on and the other in turn drops deeper to create a passing option. This will see the right centre-back becoming more of a right-back, with one of the midfielders moving wide to fill the space created by this movement. Put simply, time on the training ground working on the system in pre-season should make the system look far better than what was seen towards the back end of last year. They should be much better, although they do still need a key figure in midfield - such as Carlos Baleba - to bring them to the next level. Where will Bruno Fernandes play? 7 Without doubt, Man Utd's best player of last season, Fernandes will once again be a huge figure for the Old Trafford outfit for the upcoming campaign. However, while he has traditionally played as the linchpin of the United offence, the 30-year-old will have a new role as the conductor of the orchestra. Last season, we spoke about how Fernandes was doing too much for United and seemed to have little trust in his team-mates. 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Daily Mirror
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
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Daily Mirror
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
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