Siddharth Juyal
Atalanta director Luca Percassi expresses his pride in negotiating the best price with Manchester United for Rasmus Hojlund
Atalanta direct Luca Percassi asserted that he feels proud about the amount they received from Manchester United for Rasmus Hojlund. Signing the 20-year-old at a high cost bears a risk due to limited experience, despite immense talent.
United manager Erik ten Hag prioritized signing a forward during the summer transfer window after lacking goalscoring options last season. The Red Devils ranked eighth in the Premier League, managing to score just 58 times.
Hojlund has not scored in the Premier League despite a fruitful run in the Champions League. Nonetheless, Ten Hag’s innovative tactic against Copenhagen brought out Hojlund’s best as he adopted a structured 4-2-4 formation.
The United boss deployed the primary playmaker Bruno Fernandes centrally in an advanced position behind the Danish forward.
Furthermore, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho played the wide role without cutting inside which helped stretch the opposition. Copenhagen’s defence and midfield left space for Hojlund to exploit with his timed movement and speed.
Percassi told Sky Sports (h/t Manchester Evening News) that Atalanta are proud of getting the best price for Hojlund. He said:
“We sold Hojlund for a great price and that makes us proud. We have many collaborators, some of them silent, who work well behind the scenes to find these talents. We know who we are and where we come from, that mentality will never change.”
United signed Hojlund from Serie A side Atalanta for £72m during the summer. Before choosing to sign the Danish forward, the Red Devils considered linking with prolific forward Harry Kane.
The Denmark international appeared in just 34 games for Atalanta, scoring 10 goals and providing four assists. The Italian side signed Hojlund from Sturm Graz for only £17m in the summer of 2022. Atalanta made a massive profit on the player they had for just a year.
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United are having a nightmare season with nine losses in 17 games in all competitions. The Red Devils have only scored 24 goals in those 17 games while conceding 30, showing vulnerabilities in all areas.
Hojlund has a pivotal role to play if United want to achieve their minimum expectations this season. The Red Devils need to achieve top four spots to qualify for the next season’s Champions League. The young Dane has a lot to contribute to justify the price that United paid for him.
