RASMUS HOJLUND will become the most expensive Premier League import of the summer after Manchester United agreed a deal worth £72million with Atalanta for the Danish striker.
Last season, Hojlund scored nine goals in Serie A — fewer than United flop Romelu Lukaku and Marko Arnautovic, a man who almost sparked a riot at Old Trafford when the club tried to sign him for a tenth of Hojlund’s valuation last year.
GettySplashing £72m on Rasmus Hojlund seems another reckless move by Man Utd[/caption]
APHojlund is an upgrade on Wout Weghorst but the fee is risky for Erik ten Hag[/caption]
The Dane’s goal tally in the Italian top flight was equal to former West Ham winger Felipe Anderson and 37-year-old Edin Dzeko.
And only one of Hojlund’s goals came against a side who finished in the top eight.
Now, Hojlund is only 20. He is blessed with strength, pace and intelligence. Erik Ten Hag is a decent judge of a player and the new recruit is certainly an upgrade on Wout Weghorst.
We wish the kid well because he certainly didn’t decide on his price tag. But when will United’s transfer negotiators ever learn?
On what basis have the number crunchers decided that £72m represents good value here?
And when was the last time the club signed a forward player and you thought ‘that’s a decent piece of business’?
After Antony (£82m), Jadon Sancho (£73m), Lukaku (£75m), Anthony Martial (£50m) and the vast wages shelled out on Cristiano Ronaldo and Alexis Sanchez, you would have to go back to Robin van Persie in Sir Alex Ferguson’s last summer of 2012.
Hojlund, with remarkably little goalscoring pedigree, is the latest in this bunch of punts.
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Compared with the £52m Manchester City spent on another tall, blond Scandinavian centre-forward last summer, the Hojlund transfer fee is remarkable.
Erling Haaland had a release clause in his Borussia Dortmund contract which helped City but still, the contrast is staggering.
It’s not just forwards, of course. United’s overall strike rate in the transfer market, compared to that of City and Liverpool in particular, has been extraordinarily poor ever since Ferguson retired.
We tend to shrug our shoulders when United pay such massive fees now because it is so standard.
Rival clubs and agents have long since regarded United as a soft touch — which would have been unthinkable when their great Glaswegian godfather was in situ.
But doesn’t anybody inside the club — perhaps the supposedly parsimonious Glazer brothers — ever say ‘hang on a minute, are we really getting bang for our buck here?’
Since Ten Hag’s arrival United have actually made two decent signings in Lisandro Martinez and Casemiro.
And after a promising, if fluctuating, first season under Ten Hag it was clear they needed a world-class goalscoring centre-forward if they were to bridge the gap with City.
The need for a central striker who can fill onion bags has been apparent since the spectacular implosion of the Ronaldo comeback experiment.
Back in May, it was widely expected United would sign Harry Kane, England’s all-time record scorer and the second most prolific marksman of the Premier League era.
It would have made absolute sense for both club and player but United have passed on a deal for the 30-year-old — who would have cost around £20m or £30m more than Hojlund and would have guaranteed them bucket-loads of goals.
Instead, United’s most exciting signing of the summer is Cameroonian keeper Andre Onana, for £47m from Inter Milan, whose internet highlights reels make him look like a cross between Franz Beckenbauer and Johan Cruyff with the ball at his feet.
Mason Mount has also been purchased, a very decent player but over-priced at £60m and in a non-priority position.
Marcus Rashford has carried United’s goalscoring burden in recent seasons, chiefly cutting in from the left wing.
But the need for a central striker who can fill onion bags has been apparent since the spectacular implosion of the Ronaldo comeback experiment.
So the spotlight on Hojlund will be intense.
Yet not nearly as severe as the heat on United’s recruitment team.
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Kane’s Cup runs over
IF Harry Kane completes his move to Bayern Munich, it will be fitting that he left Tottenham with a trophy.
His final appearance in a Spurs shirt would be the 5-1 victory over Lion City Sailors, which saw them lift the Tiger Cup in Singapore.
There has been much talk about Kane’s lack of team honours — but how quick we were to forget them lifting the Walter Tull Memorial Cup at Ibrox last summer and 2019’s Audi Cup in Munich.
GettyHarry Kane could join Bayern after completing a cup treble of sorts for Spurs[/caption]
Branding in an XXXX state
THE Australian women’s football team are nicknamed ‘The Matildas’, which is almost as bad as the men’s ‘Socceroos’.
Yet the s**tness of Australian football’s PR branding is nothing compared to the s**tness of Australian state cricket’s PR branding.
During a crackdown on dangerous driving, the New South Wales team were known as the ‘RTA SpeedBlitz Blues’.
And booze-conscious Western Australia were genuinely called the ‘Alcohol. Think Again Western Warriors’.
Yes, with a full stop after ‘Alcohol’.
Joy of Wrex
THE Football League — the world’s original — kicks off this weekend with the addition of a miracle club, Leicester, a massive club, Leeds, a Hollywood club, Wrexham, and the world’s oldest club, Notts County.
Leicester won the title and the FA Cup during their nine-year stay in the top flight.
GettyWhatever the doubts over the Wrexham fairytale story, it’s enchanting to see the Dragons ‘break’ the States[/caption]
While Wrexham went to hell and back since being relegated to non-league football 15 years ago.
Some of us have doubted the ‘fairytale’ nature of Wrexham’s promotion to the League after a takeover by movie stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
But the fact that a club just elevated to England’s fourth tier has ‘broken’ the States on their pre-season tour, is definitely quite charming.
The depth and diversity of the Football League make it the lifeblood of the English game. And even the Yanks agree.
Gunner be City
HAVING signed Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, Arsenal certainly have a stronger squad than at the end of last season.
And having lost Ilkay Gundogan and Riyad Mahrez, while Kyle Walker and Bernardo Silva may also depart, champions Manchester City are weaker at this point.
City finished just five points ahead of the Gunners in the Premier League last term. But I’ve yet to meet anybody who thinks Arsenal will finish above Pep Guardiola’s team in the upcoming campaign.
Champions in poor nick
REMEMBER when Ben Stokes led England to that thrilling victory in a Super Over after the tied World Cup Final against New Zealand in 2019?
Well, with the Ashes over, England’s next major cricketing assignment is their defence of the World Cup in India in October.
Since our domestic 50-over competition — the Metro Bank One Day Cup — clashes with the made-up nonsense of The Hundred, none of England’s leading players will compete in it and as a result they may be severely undercooked.
It’s not exactly what you would call ‘building from a position of strength’.
One giant Stapp
THANKS largely to the success of the Netflix documentary Drive to Survive, Formula One is enjoying a surge of popularity with teenagers and young adults.
Yet Max Verstappen, world champion in the last two years, won his eighth successive Grand Prix on Sunday to extend his lead at the top of the drivers’ standings to 125 points.
We used to reckon that unpredictability was the essence of great sport. The kids may not agree.
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