Man Utd won’t meet Rasmus Hojlund asking price from Atalanta, Barcelona hold Kylian Mbappe talks – Paper Round
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Updated 25/07/2023 at 07:34 GMT
Tuesday’s Paper Round leads on Manchester United’s pursuit of Rasmus Hojlund, with the club unwilling to meet Atalanta’s £86m asking price for the 20-year-old striker. Elsewhere, a look at alternatives for United, including Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani, plus Barcelona entering the Kylian Mbappe chat and Chelsea rejecting an offer for Conor Gallagher.
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Man Utd won’t meet Hojlund asking price
Manchester United will not offer more than £60m for Rasmus Hojlund this summer despite Atalanta wanting £86m for the striker, the Daily Mail reports. United have made the 20-year-old Dane their top No 9 target, despite the increased prospect of Tottenham selling Harry Kane, but the club will not pay over the odds for the forward.
The Mail adds: “Having already spent £110m of a tight budget on Mason Mount and Andre Onana, United will already have to sell players in order to sign Hojlund.
“Sources say that even paying an additional £10m on the former Copenhagen striker will affect any future business due to Financial Fair Play restrictions.”
Man Utd’s alternatives
Manchester United are also looking at Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani and Ajax's Mohammed Kudus if Atalanta will not bring down their asking price for Hojlund, the Mirror reports.
The Mirror adds: “Ten Hag has been experimenting with Jadon Sancho as a false nine in pre-season and is likely to continue with that approach when United face Real Madrid in Houston.
“The United boss has big expectations for Sancho after the forward's struggles with physical and mental issues last season, which saw him miss a significant chunk of the campaign.”
Barca enter Mbappe chat
Barcelona held talks with Paris Saint-Germain on Monday regarding the possibility of signing Kylian Mbappe, L’Equipe reports. The remarkable world-record €300m (£259m) offer for Mbappe from Al Hilal, for just one year before Real Madrid swoop in, has resulted in other clubs stepping up their interest, although Barca’s is a more novel approach compared to the fee doing the rounds on Monday.
L’Equipe writes: “Barça would like to be able to put several players in the balance because they do not have the finances to carry out such an operation.
“Chelsea, Manchester United, Inter Milan and Tottenham are the other clubs that have shown an interest in Mbappé in recent weeks, beyond of course the known interest of Real Madrid, who remain the huge favourites in this race for the French striker.”
Gallagher to leave Chelsea
Conor Gallagher looks set to end his 17-year Chelsea stay, with the Standard reporting that the club deem the midfielder surplus to requirements despite him featuring in pre-season wins over Brighton and Wrexham. Chelsea have rejected a £40m bid from West Ham, with Tottenham also interested, while any money raised could go towards signing Moises Caicedo from Brighton, who have placed a £100m asking price on their midfielder.
The Standard adds: “Chelsea have a shortage of senior midfielders but would still let Gallagher go. He has been at Stamford Bridge since the age of six, and has always publicly said that he wants to stay. However, he increasingly accepts his need to leave after not being offered a new contract and with only two years left on his current deal.
“Gallagher rejected a move to Everton in January but was open to joining Newcastle, who had a loan offer turned down. Chelsea didn’t want to strengthen a rival for European qualification but Newcastle have since cooled their interest after spending big on Italy international Sandro Tonali.”
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