Benni McCarthy: Manchester United rejected three strikers before signing Rasmus Højlund, it was a mistake

Manchester United signed Rasmus Højlund in the summer of 2023 but were also tracking several other potential strikers.

Erik ten Hag had a solid first season at Manchester United, finishing third in the Premier League and winning the Carabao Cup.

However, it was clear that the Dutchman needed a top no.9 to lead his team forward. Anthony Martial was injury prone and unreliable while loanee Wout Weghorst lacked the quality needed.

Heading into the summer window, it was clear that Ten Hag wanted to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur but Spurs owner Daniel Levy was resisting any move to another Premier League team.

In the end, Kane joined Bayern Munich and United signed up-and-coming striker Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta for just over £70 million.

Højlund’s price tag caused surprise among United fans, with the young player being relatively unproven at the highest level, and that has since been proven at Old Trafford.

Despite showing his quality on occasion, Højlund has largely been swallowed up by the pressure-cooker that is Manchester United, with the striker only scoring twice in the Premier League so far this season.

McCarthy reveals three strikers United overlooked before signing Højlund

Former United first-team coach Benni McCarthy was part of Ten Hag’s backroom staff in his first two seasons at the club.

The ex-Blackburn and Porto centre-forward worked with the attacking players at United and has since spoken about the deal to bring Højlund to the club.

McCarthy has explained that club executives did not want to spend the extra cash on Kane, and decided to sign Højlund over Randal Kolo Muani and Victor Osimhen.

The 47-year-old has suggested that it was a mistake to miss out on a deal for Kane, who he sees as the “complete package”, and claims that signing both Kane and Højlund would have helped the young Danish striker.

“In the summer of 2023, Harry Kane was our No. 1 target,” McCarthy, who departed from his coaching role at United in 2024, told Ladbrokes via The Mirror.

“Kane was the prime target, but obviously, the price tag was an issue. Because he would have been leaving Spurs for United, a few extra million pounds were added on to the price tag.

“But for £100million, if you look at it now, you’d say that it would have been well worth it because he’s gone to Bayern and he’s still producing, he’s still scoring. So you think we should have just bitten the bullet and got Harry Kane and then also tried to invest in Rasmus Hojlund.

“That would have been the best thing for Rasmus if he had if he had someone like Harry Kane involved. So, yeah, Harry Kane was Erik’s No. 1 target. Erik really wanted him. Kolo Muani was also very high on that list. Victor Osimhen was also on that list. But I felt that if you’re going to want to spend that kind of money – £100million plus – then you want a complete package.

“Harry Kane, for me, was the complete package. But unfortunately, the club didn’t see it that way. They looked at it as Rasmus Hojlund, in the long run would be a more prized asset than investing in both Rasmus and Harry Kane. So we stopped pursuing Kane, and we ended up getting just Rasmus.”

Højlund clearly struggling with confidence at United

Højlund has been dealt a difficult hand at United, with the 21-year-old expected to be the main goalscorer in a side struggling to create chances.

Last season he managed to do well to score 16 times in all competitions but it feels like his confidence has been hugely knocked this term.

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With a lack of goals coming for the player, the other aspects of his game are being impacted. He wasn’t the best at holding the ball or linking play beforehand but now he is struggling to trap the ball in space.

Confidence is a huge thing in football, and while the financial side would not have allowed both deals, there is no question that Højlund would be developing at a much better rate if he had a seasoned-pro like Kane to learn from at Old Trafford.

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