Jamie O’Hara believes Manchester United are overpaying for Rasmus Hojlund, citing the Antony deal from last summer.
It’s no secret that Manchester United occasionally spend large money on a big target, and Hojlund appears to be their next big-money deal.
With the forward likely to complete his £72 million move to Old Trafford, many United fans are enthused about what Hojlund could bring to their team.
Last season, Erik ten Hag’s team lacked a natural number nine when Cristiano Ronaldo left and Wout Weghorst failed to meet expectations.
Despite the current buzz surrounding Hojlund, O’Hara believes United may have overspent on the forward.
“It’s a lot of money, isn’t it?” O’Hara told Grosvenor Sport. “But he’s a young lad, he looks powerful and is meant to be a bit of a wonderkid.
“The jury will be out of course, because this is what Manchester United do – they signed Antony for big bucks last season and he was average, so I’m not expecting anything massive from them, but [Hojlund] does look like a top player who knows how to score goals.
“Manchester United always overpay for players. It’s Manchester United – they’re one of the richest clubs and biggest clubs in the world, so they’re always overpaying for players.
“That’s just how it’s always been. If young players are available and Man United want to sign them, the clubs are going to say, ‘yep, £80m’, because that’s just the going rate for these players now from abroad who are meant to be these wonderkids. If Man United want you, then your price tag is going to be high.
“I feel like that’s what the club are trying to do now – bring in all this young talent. We’ve seen it with Jadon Sancho and Antony and it just hasn’t worked out yet, so we’ll see. I think Erik ten Hag knows what he’s doing though.”
The 20-year-old scored nine league goals for Atalanta last season and has six goals in four games for Denmark this season.
Christian Eriksen has been delighted by Hojlund’s growth over the last year and feels Manchester United has signed a good talent.
“What’s he like? He’s a strong number nine,” the Man Utd midfielder told the PA news agency.
“He’s developed a lot in the last year from when I first saw him with the national team (to) a year’s time, so, yeah, he’s a very good player.”
Ten Hag will undoubtedly be eager to begin working with Hojlund as he plans his new-look offensive around the forthcoming star.
