Senior figures ‘shocked’ by Man United price paid for ‘the new Erling Haaland’
Senior Denmark football figures were “shocked” by the huge fee Man United paid for Rasmus Hojlund last summer, sources have told Football Insider.
Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, Bryan King, the former Scandinavian senior scout of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Everton senior scout, said the £72million fee forked out by United to Atalanta came as a big surprise in his native country.
The Denmark international has underwhelmed since his mega-money move and has scored just one goal in the Premier League, although he did net five times in United’s failed Champions League campaign.
Hojlund is one of multiple Man United signings who were brought on massive fees under Erik ten Hag but have failed to have a genuine impact, including Antony’s reported £85million move and Andre Onana’s reported £47.2million fee.
King, who is very well connected to Scandinavian football, insisted that Hojlund has been a poor signing and has struggled to live up to the significant expectations following his arrival at Old Trafford.
“Nobody was more shocked [by Hojlund’s fee] than the senior football people who live in Denmark,” King told the Insider Track.
“To think that Man United paid £72million for this boy – he’s way off the mark.
“For them to come in and claim that have the new Erling Haaland, it’s difficult for him.
“He should have confidence in the manager, but I don’t, to be honest.
“Ten Hag does not generate that personality that I’m looking for in a Man United manager.”
Ten Hag has faced swathes of scrutiny for his recruitment since joining in 2022, with many adamant that their underperformance has contributed to the club’s downfall this season.
The club sit ninth in the Premier League table with the joint-lowest amount of goals scored among teams outside the relegation zone with just 22.
In other news, Sources: Man United are ‘all over’ Belgian sensation as £50m fee revealed