Rasmus Højlund arrived at Manchester United from Atalanta in the last window.
The Serie A side took the striker from Sturm Graz in 2022 and their CEO, Luca Percassi, admitted earlier this month that Atalanta had hoped to retain him for a longer period.
Atalanta had a chance as Højlund has now admitted that he wouldn’t have agreed to join Manchester United if there weren’t assurances over regular game time, and his quotes are relayed by Ekstra Bladet.
The 20-year-old has revealed a chat with Erik ten Hag convinced him to take this step.
“I spoke to the coach up until the transfer. For me it was important to play football and if I had been told that I had to go to Manchester United to be a reserve for the rest of my days, I would never have gone there,” he said.
The frontman missed the start of the season due to a back injury and since regaining full fitness in September, he’s scored three goals from eight games for the Red Devils.
Højlund was without an agent for most of last season and recent claims from the UK had stated SEG’s Kees Vos negotiated his move to Manchester United.
The Dane is delighted everything has worked in his favour and is currently enjoying his transfer to Old Trafford, where he has been leading their attack since being fit.
“I went from not having an agent at the beginning of November last year, when my contract with BTAM expired, to my father starting to have conversations with some new ones. From there it is all filtered, and then it ended up where it did,” Højlund explained.
“Sometimes I can catch myself looking down at the shirt and thinking ‘wow’. I think I’ll always be proud to pull the jersey over my head and that’s what I try to show on the pitch. I don’t get emotional, but I get a little boost.”
