Erik ten Hag has made a blunt admission about new signing Rasmus Hojlund as the £72m signing is made to wait for his Manchester United debut....CONTINUE READING
The summer arrival from Atalanta will miss United’s Premier League opener against Wolves on Monday with a back problem and it looks doubtful he will be ready for the trip to Tottenham next Saturday as well.
Ten Hag has stressed the injury is not long-term but says it will take a while to get the Dane up to speed and ready for the rigours of Premier League combat.
“As we said previously, he had a small issue,” said the Dutchman in his pre-Wolves press conference. “He’s not on the levels where our players are in this moment so we have to train him. The prognosis [is] difficult always to say. We are confident and we are positive.”
United have previously been linked with Harry Kane, who is joining Bayern Munich for a fee worth more than £100m. Ten Hag insists he is happy to have gone for Hojlund but says Kane’s absence will be felt in the Premier League.
“First of all we have chosen a striker and we are really happy with our choice,” he said.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – AUGUST 05: Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United is unveiled to supporters prior to the pre-season friendly match between Manchester United and RC Lens at Old Trafford on August 05, 2023 in Manchester, England.
Manchester United will have to be patient with Rasmus Hojlund
“[Kane] is a great striker. That’s clear, he’s really a goal maker and apart from that he has all the conditions and abilities that you want to see in a striker. It’s a miss for the Premier League, absolutely.”
Quizzed on whether United were ever serious candidates to sign the England captain, he said: “I don’t think that I have to go into that discussion or to give an opinion about that. We are professional. The processes we do are really careful, we consider a lot of things.
“But finally we make decisions and we don’t take decisions overnight. There’s a strategy behind every decision and we are happy with the squad we have now.”
In other team news, Ten Hag says Harry Maguire is available despite the club accepting a bid from West Ham for their former captain but Amad Diallo, Tyrell Malacia, Kobbie Mainoo, Tom Heaton and Dean Henderson are sidelined….READFULL
