After having made a major play for Tottenham’s talismanic top scorer Harry Kane for the earlier part of the summer transfer window, Erik ten Hag has now said he is happy with Manchester United’s decision to sign Rasmus Hojlund this summer as moves are already being finalized for Harry Kane to Bayern Munich in the same window.
Kane, who was heavily linked with United during their search for a striker, is on the verge of joining Bayern for more than £100m while Hojlund, 20, has arrived at Old Trafford in a deal which could end up costing £72 million.
“We have chosen a striker and we are really happy with our choice,” Ten Hag told a news conference on Friday.
“[Kane] is a great striker, 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.”
Kane, 30, has been blazing a scorching trail as a regular scorer in the Premier League for nearly a decade and reached 30 league goals last season while Hojlund is unproven at the top level, managing nine goals for Atalanta in Serie A last term.
Speaking ahead of United’s Premier League opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday, Ten Hag was silent on why Hojlund was chosen over the England captain whom he had been openly favoring much earlier.
“I don’t think that I have to go into that discussion or give an opinion about that,” he said.
“We are professional and the processes we do are really careful. We consider a lot of things but finally we make decisions, but not overnight. We study every decision and we are happy with the squad we have behind us now.”
Hojlund will be missing the game against Wolves because of a back injury although Ten Hag played down speculation the Denmark international could be set for a long spell on the sidelines.
“As we said previously, he had a small issue,” Ten Hag said.
“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.”