Hojlund cited as reason Manchester United won’t have chance to sign £60m midfielder

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The deal which brought Rasmus Hojlund to Manchester United last summer might just have cost the Premier League giants the chance to bring one of Europe’s best all-round midfielders to the Premier League too.

Now, let us explain. Or, more accurately, let those over in Italy explain.

It is no secret that Manchester United are in the market for midfielders – and just about every other position – with Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Sofyan Amrabat all potentially on their way during the first summer under Ineos control.

And, in a certain £60 million target, Man United appear to have discovered a midfielder with the ball-winning capabilities of Casemiro, the poise of Amrabat and the goalscoring prowess of a prime-time Eriksen.

Manchester United eye Serie A star in midfielder search

Teun Koopmeiners can do it all. The ultimate ‘jack of all trades’ footballer.

Unfortunately for the Red Devils, however, Man United may have inadvertently cost themselves the chance to bring Koopmeiners to Old Trafford. The Dutchman’s current employers, Atalanta, are still fat of the £64 million windfall handed over to them by United when Hojlund joined eight months ago.

And, as Tuttomercatoweb explain, the Serie A outfit simply ‘do not need to sell’. It was a similar story last August, when reigning Scudetto holders Napoli tried and failed with an offer of £40 million for the former AZ Alkmaar captain.

‘Atalanta had the strength to refuse for various reasons’, TMW add. The big-money departure of a certain Danish centre-forward one of those aforementioned ‘reasons’. 

Rasmus Hojlund sale strengthens Atalanta’s hand

Of course, just because Atalanta do not ‘need’ to sell – as outlined by CEO Luca Percassi – that does not mean they won’t. Koopmeiners, who has blossomed from a deep-lying playmaker into a box-crashing number eight in Italy, confirmed to De Telegraaf during the March international break that he wants a new challenge after two years in Bergamo.

At the age of 26, and having broken the 10-goal barrier in each of his Serie A seasons, there is a sense that Koopmeiners is ready to make his mark at a genuine A-list club. HITC Football, meanwhile, understands that Man United had planned to watch the former Eredivisie ace in action during the Netherlands 2-1 defeat by Germany in Frankfurt a few days ago.

It would have been a wasted trip, however, Koopmeiners ruled out through injury.

He is not the only midfielder on United’s radar, however. There is also interest in Everton’s Amadou Onana and Benfica’s Joao Neves. Ten Hag’s side like Ederson too but, as a team-mate of Koopmeiners at Atalanta, the same issues could arise there.