Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag has said that his club 'considered a lot of things' before deciding to make Rasmus Hojlund their leading centre-forward target this summer.
The Red Devils were linked with a number of strikers, including Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Napoli's Victor Osimhen, before deciding to focus on bringing in Hojlund from Atalanta BC.
Kane is now on the verge of completing a move to Bayern Munich, and Ten Hag was asked about the England captain during his press conference to preview Monday's Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
"I don't think that I have to go into that discussion or give an opinion about that," Ten Hag said when questioned on the club deciding against a move for Kane. "We are professional, the processes we do are really careful.
"We consider a lot of things but finally we make decisions, we don't take decisions overnight, there is a strategy in every decision behind and we are happy with the squad we have behind us now.
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"We have chosen a striker and we are really happy with our choice. He (Kane)'s a great striker, clear. 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."
Hojlund, 20, will not be available for Man United in the early stages of the 2023-24 campaign due to a minor back problem, but he could potentially return before the end of the month.
The Dane has arrived at Old Trafford off the back of scoring 10 goals in 34 appearances for Atalanta last season, while Kane is seemingly set to leave Spurs with a record of 280 goals in 435 outings.
Man United will be bidding to make the perfect start to their 2023-24 season when they welcome Wolves to Old Trafford on Monday evening.
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"First, you never can compare seasons with each other but I think we are much further than last season, but you can never compare games," Ten Hag added on Friday.
"Different opponents, we had a very good pre-season, our fitness levels are very good, we are on really good levels and I think also our performance levels during pre-season were on a high level.
"We are very confident but also I want to mention pre-season doesn't say anything, it's friendly football. Though I never take a game as a friendly, it's friendly in the sense of going.
"In the league, going for the points it's a different approach for both teams. We are ready to go for the fight, the team is really energetic and we worked really good for pre-season and we go for it."
Ten Hag has also said that Harry Maguire will be available for selection in the team's campaign opener despite the widespread speculation surrounding his future.
Matt Law
