Erik ten Hag has revealed that Manchester United have 'made progress' in talks to sign a new striker this summer.
The Dutchman has made two signings so far this summer, with midfielder Mason Mount joining from Chelsea for £60m and goalkeeper Andre Onana arriving from Inter Milan for around £47.2m.
Both players have linked up with Ten Hag's first-team squad on their pre-season tour of the United States, and the Red Devils are now determined to recruit a new centre-forward before the 2023-24 campaign begins.
The acrimonious January exit of Cristiano Ronaldo and departure of Burnley loanee Wout Weghorst last month has forced Man United to delve into the transfer market for attacking reinforcements, and a plethora of names have been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
While big-money moves for Tottenham Hotspur's Harry Kane and Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe have been mooted, it is thought that Man United have opted against making a formal approach for either player at this stage of the summer window.
© Reuters
Asked by reporters, as quoted by Sky Sports News, about the prospect of signing Mbappe, Ten Hag said: "We never speak about players who are under contract in other clubs."
Instead, the Red Devils have stepped up their pursuit of Atalanta BC's 20-year-old striker Rasmus Hojlund, although they are currently reluctant to play over £60m for the £85m-rated Denmark international.
Ten Hag has refused to comment on specific names of potential targets, but he has admitted that Man United are progressing in talks to sign a new striker and he is keen to get a deal over the line as soon as possible.
"We make progress, yeah," Ten Hag told reporters. "But you know how it works – when we have him, we will tell you directly.
"The only thing I can say is we do everything that's in our power to get that done. If it was up to me, yeah, as soon as possible. The earlier the better because we have to integrate him in the team, the way of play.
"In an ideal situation, he was already here but you do not always get ideal situations as a manager and you have to deal with the situation."
© Reuters
United's need for a new striker has been evident over the last two seasons in which they scored just 57 Premier League goals in 2021-22, before netting 58 times last season – the lowest of any team finishing in the top six.
Marcus Rashford excelled for the Red Devils in 2022-23, though, scoring 30 goals across all competitions, but Ten Hag has encouraged more members of his first-team squad to step up in the final third.
"We are underperforming there, and we are aware of it so others have to contribute also in that area but therefore we are looking for scoring abilities," Ten Hag added.
"I think with Mason Mount already we have a player extra who is capable of not only scoring goals but also to create, and to put players like Rashford into position to score more goals. But as a whole team we have to score more."
United target Hojlund scored 10 goals in 34 games during his debut campaign with Atalanta last season, a year after netting 12 times in 21 appearances for Austrian outfit Sturm Graz.
The likes of Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani and Napoli's Victor Osimhen, who scored 23 and 31 goals respectively in all competitions last season, have also been linked with a summer move to Old Trafford.
Oliver Thomas
