Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund has struggled for consistent goalscoring form
United are not actively seeking to offload Hojlund but both the club and player are understood to be aware of Inter’s interest.
Hojlund had an encouraging debut campaign at Old Trafford in the wake of a £72 million move from Atalanta in August 2023.
But the Denmark centre-forward struggled badly last season and is one of those players United could look to cash in on if a suitable offer arises.
United paid Atalanta an initial £64 million rising to £72 million for Hojlund and the indications are it could take around €45-50 million (£38-42 million) to persuade the Old Trafford club to part with the 22-year-old.
It is thought Inter would favour a loan move initially with an option or obligation to buy but United may insist on a permanent deal with certain parameters as they look to raise cash to reinvest in Ruben Amorim’s squad.
Inter have not been discouraged by Hojlund’s struggles in the Premier League and he is thought to feature prominently in their list of attacking targets.
Hojlund won admirers in Italy with his performances for Atalanta and remains well thought of in Serie A circles, with Inter not the only interested party.
There is also thought to be recognition in Italy of the challenges he has faced at United, not least the burden placed on one so young to lead the line with little experienced support to learn off or lean on.
Inter are set to appoint Cristian Chivu as their new manager following the exit of Simone Inzaghi for Saudi Pro League Al Hilal before flying to the United States next week for the start of the Club World Cup and remain keen to bolster their attacking options.
United have signed Brazil forward Matheus Cunha from Wolves for £62.5 million and are hoping to also add Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo to their squad as they bid to address their chronic shortage of goals.
With no European football at Old Trafford next season, Amorim plans to run with a leaner, meaner squad that will, in theory, help the club to reduce their cost base even further.
Indeed, it is not unfeasible that United’s wage bill for next season could be around £80 million lower than 2023-24, when they were in the Champions League, should they successfully offload a number of high earners this summer.
The impact of Jim Ratcliffe’s cost-cutting measures and efforts to reshape the squad were evident in the third quarter accounts United released on Friday, which showed the wage bill had dropped by almost 22 per cent to £71.2 million for the three months to March 31 this year compared with the corresponding period last year.
Jobs cuts aside, this was heavily impacted by the loan exit of Marcus Rashford to Aston Villa and other January loan departures, such as Antony.
United’s final wage bill for the 2024-25 campaign is likely to be in the region of £305 million, around £60 million less than the previous season when they were in the Champions League.
If United’s latest third quarter figures were extrapolated to cover a whole season, though, the annual wage bill would stand at around £285 million.
So if United manage to offload big earners such as Rashford, Casemiro and Jadon Sancho to make way for new arrivals this summer, and with plans to run with a smaller squad, it is possible that the club’s wage bill could sit at around the £285 million mark for 2025-26 - which would be £80 million less than two seasons earlier.
There was recognition internally among United’s new hierarchy that the wage bill had lost connection with on field performance and there was a drastic need to get a grip on salary costs.
United have been offering far more incentivised contracts with lower base salaries over the past 18 months.
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