Late last week, reports in Italy emerged that Atalanta had rejected a bid of €35m for Rasmus Højlund, with many speculating it came from Manchester United.
The official stance was an unnamed English side were behind the bid, but considering the amount of reports about an interest from Erik ten Hag, it was easy to draw conclusions.
Either way, Manchester United have kept up their recent drooling over the young Dane by watching him over the weekend, which only encouraged the speculation in Italy, more specifically at Corriere di Bergamo.
The newspaper have an article looking at which players could be sold and offer the most money to Atalanta this summer, and the answer is Højlund.
He ‘risks being the most expendable’, such is the interest in him, and it’s recalled that Manchester United ‘have been pressing for him for weeks’.
However, they then bring up reports from England that Atalanta would ‘not sell him for less than £86m’, which they seem rather surprised about.
Down the player’s end, the young forward ‘has already made it clear that he aspires to a top club’, and it would be ‘almost impossible to keep him without the Champions League’, which Atalanta will not play in after finishing fifth in Serie A.
Manchester United, on the other hand, will, and that gives them a big advantage.
