One Manchester United player has given his “total availability” to a Serie A club interested in signing him following Rúben Amorim’s latest decision.
In order to rejuvenate the squad, Manchester United are looking at moving several players on this summer.
Last season, United achieved their worst ever Premier League finish, and in order to stop a repeat of this calamitous season, the board are supporting a rebuild around new manager Ruben Amorim’s system.
So far this summer, the club have brought in Matheus Cunha from Wolves and are close to signing Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo. There could potentially be several other incomings after these two as the team is also reportedly hunting a striker, goalkeeper and midfielder.
Due to the club’s PSR issues, it is necessary to sell some of the existing squad to fund these new transfers. Academy graduates Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho appear to be two of the most likely players to depart, as both have fallen out of favour with Amorim.
A new report from Italy has indicated that another Manchester United player may be leaving and has given the green light to the approaching club.
Højlund gives “total availability” to Inter
Corriere dello Sport have reported that Inter Milan are still pursuing the signing of United striker Rasmus Højlund, seeing him as the ideal third attacker to join Lautaro Martinez and Marcus Thuram.
Erik ten Hag signed Hojlund from the Serie A in 2023 following his breakout season at Atalanta. The report indicated that the Danish striker was open to a return to Italy and has given “his total availability” and green light to Inter, should they decide to pursue this transfer.
Last season’s Champions League finalists are looking to move on Iranian striker Mehdi Taremi after just one season at the club and see Hojlund as the ideal replacement.
After arriving at the club on a free transfer, Inter are willing to accept low bids for Taremi. Premier League clubs Fulham and Nottingham Forest are reportedly interested, alongside Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s new club, Beşiktaş.
The primary challenge this deal faces is the structure. Inter would be interested in pursuing a loan with either an obligation or option to buy at the end, whereas United would prefer a permanent transfer, as it would allow the club to have more money to spend on a replacement striker.
It will be a difficult move for United
Højlund has become one of the players that some fans want to see replaced, following a poor 24/25 campaign. The 22-year-old managed only 14 goal involvements in 52 appearances, averaging 237 minutes of football played per goal involvement.
However, as undoubtedly disappointing as Hojlund’s last season was, Inter’s desired deal would not be in the club’s best interest.
Prior to outgoings, the club needed to bring in a striker for next season. There were points in last year’s campaign where both Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee were unavailable, and experimentation was required upfront with Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes both playing games there.
This means that if Højlund were to leave, the club would be put in the same predicament if the new striker and Zirkzee were injured simultaneously.
Regarding Amorim’s thoughts on Zirkzee and Højlund, it has been reported that Amorim would prefer to keep the Dutchman over his Danish counterpart this summer, with Zirkzee tipped to become “amazing” next season.
Furthermore, Inter’s desired deal in no way helps United bring in a new striker. The club is currently cash-strapped, so a loan, even with a loan fee, wouldn’t contribute much to Hojlund’s replacement.
Additionally, even if United were able to convince Inter to go for a permanent deal, it is unlikely to match the £64 million plus £8 million in potential add-ons that it cost to bring him in from Atalanta.
Due to Højlund only having been at the club for two years, a significant portion of that fee remains unamortised.
If United were to sell him for less than his remaining book value (the unamortised portion of his transfer fee), it would be recorded as a loss on the balance sheet, which could worsen the club’s PSR position.
Due to the PSR and amortisation issues around Højlund’s contract, it seems unlikely the club would be able to move him on, unless they were offered a permanent transfer fee that covered a significant percentage of his initial transfer cost.
Højlund’s departure would also put more pressure on any incoming striker, so the club’s safest bet is to keep him for at least another season in the hopes that he turns his form around and if not they can move him on next summer for a lower fee without facing the same PSR issues as more of his cost will have been amortised.
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