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Prior to the summer transfer window opening, the two priority areas that Manchester United needed to strengthen were up front and in goal.
Mason Mount‘s signing is expected to solve the midfield crisis while United are said to be very close to agreeing a deal with Inter Milan for Andre Onana.
Only after the deal is wrapped up will the Red Devils progress with the signing of an elite striker. So far, that chase has proved to be quite complicated.
Complicated striker search
Manager Erik ten Hag’s first priority was bringing in Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy would rather sell to Bayer Munich than strengthen a direct rival.
United were forced to shift their focus to Atalanta wonderkid Rasmus Hojlund but so far the Bergamo-based outfit have been stubborn in their valuation.
They have slapped an astonish €100 million price tag on the Dane, knowing fully well United’s desperation and the lack of affordable strikers in the market currently.
Atalanta have rejected United’s bid and are holding out for more. There are a few alternatives that the Reds could target but reportedly, they messed up with one of them.
After his World Cup heroics, Goncalo Ramos was seen as one of the early favourites to land up at Old Trafford and he did his chances no harm at Benfica last season.
The 22-year-old notched 27 goals and 12 assists in 47 games in all competitions, notching a goal involvement every 89 minutes.
Faced with budget constraints that have forced them to seek creative ways of completing a deal, the 20-time English league champions proposed the idea of a player plus cash deal.
United tried to offload Alex Telles as part of the deal but the Brazilian, who had previously played for Porto, refused to sign for the arch-rivals, thus ending the chances of a deal.
Goncalo Ramos bid failed
“Manchester United have failed with a bid for Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos which included Brazilian left-back Alex Telles as part of the deal, CaughtOffside understands.
“It remains to be seen if the Red Devils will try again for Ramos, but Telles is understood to prefer a move back to his former club Porto, whilst also having suitors back in his native Brazil, sources have informed CaughtOffside.”
United will need to offload multiple players if they are to successfully bring in a striker ahead of next season. So far, it is not looking too promising.
Ten Hag would not want a backup option like Mehdi Taremi at this stage of his tenure and he is already growing frustrated with the time taken to complete deals.
