Erik Ten Hag has openly shared insights into Manchester United’s search for a new striker last summer.
Manchester United’s pursuit of a new striker last summer took an unexpected turn. While their top target was England’s Harry Kane, they ultimately signed Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta for a significant sum of £72 million.
Contrasting fortunes
Despite United’s efforts, Kane ended up joining Bayern Munich. This move proved fruitful for the striker, who shattered scoring records with an impressive 43 goals in 43 appearances.
Meanwhile, Hojlund’s adaptation to the Premier League has been slower. He only managed to secure his first goal on Boxing Day and currently faces a slump with just one goal in his last six league matches.
The Danish forward has found the net 14 times in 38 appearances across all competitions.
Ten Hag on player recruitment at Manchester United
Ten Hag has recently disclosed that Hojlund was their secondary option, explaining the reason for signing him after missing out on Kane.
Speaking to Gary Neville on Sky Sports, Ten Hag talked about the kinds of players Manchester United could bring in.
“That can only be outstanding players.
“That’s players who have all the skill sets, that is the physical and especially the mental skill set they need to perform and contribute because we have to win every game.
“There’s an expectation around every game from us so you can only fulfil that expectation when you have those outstanding players,” Ten Hag said. “But in the last decade and in this period, we couldn’t always get the players we wanted. But then you have to build and you have to accept that you get talent in instead of players who already proved it in the past.
“We have had some choices made with talents like Rasmus Hojlund. I can see a striker who already proved it, who we wanted to sign and we couldn’t get him. And then we went to Rasmus because he’s a talent,” he said.
When asked if he was referring to Kane, Ten Hag added, “Yes, and you know Harry Kane will get you 30 goals.
“I think Rasmus will get there, but he needs time. It’s not fair to assess him the same as Harry Kane. I would never compare two players because they are very different.
“But with Hojlund, I think we had the biggest potential in the striker position last summer and we are very happy with him. But he also needs time to adapt and we are very pleased he showed his assets in scoring goals.”
