Manchester United are still expecting to offload Rasmus Hojlund this summer despite their struggles to sign a new number nine, GIVEMESPORT sources understand.
The Red Devils endured a difficult 2024/25 campaign where they sacked Erik Ten Hag and replaced him with Ruben Amorim, before finishing 15th in the Premier League and missing out on European football entirely by losing the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur in May.
That has greatly affected the club's transfer window plans, with a new striker believed to be among the priorities, and internal talks have now begun over what the next steps are.
Sources: Man Utd Want Gyokeres as Top Option
Amorim doesn't believe Hojlund is good enough
man utd rasmus hojlund
Denmark international Hojlund, who signed for the Reds for an initial £64m two summers ago from Atalanta, struggled massively under Amorim in his second season in England, scoring just ten goals in all competitions.
A lack of attacking options meant that Amorim stuck with him as his primary striker option, but the manager now believes that the 22-year-old doesn't have the potential to deliver enough goals for the team.
As a result, GMS sources understand that the feeling is the club will look to offload him during the summer transfer window amid interest from Serie A.
Rasmus Hojlund's statistics for Manchester United this season
Man Utd chiefs would love to deliver a premium centre-forward for the manager as his replacement, with Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyokeres understood to be the preferred option at this stage of the window.
But after missing out on Champions League football, the club are finding it difficult to secure his signature and there is now an acceptance that they need to come up with a back-up plan, which could see them consider players that do not fit the exact profile they have previously been looking for.
GMS sources understand that Man Utd recently had talks behind the scenes about what happens if they cannot sign one of the strikers that Amorim desires.
Sources: Man Utd Being Offered Senior Strikers
Ekitike also liked, but seen as a gamble
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim
The club have a shortlist of options and GIVEMESPORT understand that Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike is someone they like. However, with the Bundesliga club reportedly demanding £84m for the Frenchman, United chiefs see it as a very expensive gamble, and that type of deal is not the sort of thing they believe to be sensible.
It's now understood that Man Utd could begin to consider more proven or senior players as options going forward, with agents beginning to offer them new options to think about.
Man Utd have already completed a £62.5m deal to sign Matheus Cunha from Wolves, while a deal for Bryan Mbeumo is edging closer. But any future deals are expected to have to wait until the club can make sales, with Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho and Antony all expected to be moved on too.
Sign up to The GIVEMESPORT Report to get exclusive daily updates from Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Dean Jones and Tom Bogert sent straight to your inbox.
All statistics courtesy of Sofascore - correct as of 27/06/2025.
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim Related
Exclusive: Man Utd 'Receive Multiple Approaches' to Sign £70m Star
Manchester United star Alejandro Garnacho has been attracting interest from Spain and Italy