Manchester United are in need of a much-needed boost when they return home to face French side Lens at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils will close out their pre-season schedule with a double-header having lost three consecutive friendlies.
Erik ten Hag’s side slipped to a 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund that followed losses to Real Madrid and Wrexham on their American tour.
United will now look to reverse their poor run of form in a hectic pre-season that will see them face Lens in Manchester a day before they battle Athletic Bilbao in Dublin.
Pre-season friendly to kick-off at 12:45pm.
Man United XI: Onana, Dalot, Varane, Martinez, Shaw, Casemiro, Mount, Fernandes, Antony, Garnacho, Rashford.
Subs: Heaton, Kovar, Lindelof, Maguire, Wan-Bissaka, Eriksen, Hannibal, Pellistri, Van de Beek, Forson, Sancho.
Fans can watch live on MUTV starting from 11:45pm, and you can sign up to watch the action here.
Follow our live match blog below for regular updates…
Hojlund is set to become United’s third signing of the summerCredit: Getty
And Hojlund has now completed a medical at the club as the finishing touches are being put on the mega-money transfer, report the Manchester Evening News.
It is also reported that the striker’s visa, registration and contract are nearly finalised.
Hojlund has agreed a five-year contract with an option for another year, an agreement that was struck before a deal was clinched with Atalanta.
But fans waiting to see an announcement will have to wait until Saturday when United plan on parading their new signing before the friendly against Lens at 12:45pm at Old Trafford.
The youngster will become the third arrival this summer at the Red Devils after Mason Mount and Andre Onana joined up.
The signing of Hojlund will take Erik ten Hag’s spending to close to £200m, adding to his lavish spending last year.
Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Antony and Tyrell Malacia were brought in for close to £250m between them.
But a striker has long been coveted by United after the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, who had his contract torn up before signing for Al Nassr.
3
Hojlund scored nine times in Serie A last seasonCredit: Getty
3
Ten Hag has made Hojlund his top targetCredit: Getty
Wout Weghorst was brought in on loan from Burnley in January but did not impress, failing to score in the Premier League.
Several forwards were looked at including Harry Kane, Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani.
But Hojlund became the top choice as the summer progressed due to his brilliant potential to be one of Europe’s top strikers.
It is believed that Ten Hag can help develop the former Copenhagen ace into a formidable force under his tutelage.
The Denmark international scored nine times in Serie A last season, as well as netting six in four European Championship qualifiers for his nation.
Manchester United are edging closer to announcing the signing of Rasmus Hojlund with the striker set to undergo his medical.
talkSPORT revealed last week how the Red Devils had agreed a deal rising to £72million with Atalanta for the 20-year-old’s services.
3
Hojlund is set to join United from Italian outfit AtalantaCredit: Getty
3
Denmark international Hojlund was Ten Hag’s top priority this summer
United will fork out an initial £64m, with a further £8m to be paid in potential add-ons.
And he is now primed to be unveiled by Erik ten Hag’s side with the Denmark international now in Manchester.
He will soon undergo his medical at the club’s Carrington training ground.
Ten Hag had made landing the centre-forward his No.1 target following the arrivals of Mason Mount and Andre Onana.
Personal terms have already been agreed between the striker and United, with Hojlund to pen a five-year deal.
His contract at Old Trafford will also contain the option of a further 12 months.
A striker was a key priority for United this window, with the club yet to replace Cristiano Ronaldo following his departure midway through last season.
His Danish compatriot Christian Eriksen – and soon to be United teammate – recently gave the Red Devils his seal of approval over the transfer.
3
Hojlund will make the move to Old Trafford in a deal rising to £72millionCredit: Getty
Telling the United fans what to expect of Hojlund, Eriksen said: “He has developed a lot in the last year from when I first saw him with the national team.
“Now he’s a strong number nine.
“I suppose we don’t get enough media attention in Denmark, so that’s why people outside do not know enough.
“I haven’t seen that many games for Atalanta but I know how they play and he fitted in well there – so yeah, he’s a very good player.”
talkSPORT football match centre
Keep up-to-date with all the latest Manchester United fixtures and results and live Premier League standings in our new match centre.
Rasmus Hojlund’s trainers may have given Manchester United fans exactly the update they were hoping for.
The Atalanta and Denmark striker is heavily linked with a move to Old Trafford as supporters await their second signing of the summer after Mason Mount.
2
United are stepping up their interest in HojlundCredit: Getty
2
Hojlund’s trainer may have dropped a big hintCredit: @energeticx_cph
Hojlund has emerged as a top target for Erik ten Hag, and talkSPORT understands that United are pursuing a deal after pulling out of the race for Harry Kane.
Well, Hojlund may be a step closer to the Premier League after his trainers posted a cheeky video on Instagram full of hints.
ENERGETICX Copenhagen posted a video of the 20-year-old in action, and added the caption: “We ready for what’s next,” which was followed by a shushing emoji.
The video also included Toxic Trait by Stormzy playing over it, with the UK Grime star a well-known fan of United.
It’s understood that talks have already taken place over a deal for the striker, who would be a more affordable option than Kane with a price tag of £40-£50million.
Hojlund played his first season for Atalanta last time out, registering 10 goals and two assists in 34 games.
Loosely compared to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland due to his stature and position, Hojlund is so far showing his capabilities on a level playing field at international level.
In four games for Denmark during Euro 2024 qualifying, Hojlund has a whopping six goals, the most of any player, and twice as many as Norway’s Haaland.
Premier League leaders Arsenal are set to make a huge offer for Atalanta forward Rasmus Hojlund ahead of the summer transfer window, according to reports.
The Denmark international moved to the Serie A club in the summer transfer window from Sturm Graz for around €17m.
Hojlund has hit the ground running in Italy with the 20-year-old scoring a respectable seven goals in 21 matches in all competitions, while only 11 of those appearances came in the starting XI.
Those early performances for Atalanta have already piqued the interest of a number of clubs around Europe with Arsenal one of those potential suitors.
Arsenal are understood to be ‘closely monitoring’ his progress while Los Blancos sent ‘observers’ to watch Hojlund play in Atalanta’s 2-0 victory against Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico ten days ago.
They add that the young Dane has ‘attracted the interest of many top tier clubs, two in particular: Real Madrid and Arsenal’ with the La Liga side’s president Florentino Perez a fan of his.
Italian website Calciomercato talk about interest from Napoli in Hojlund but it is claimed Atalanta ‘won’t give anyone any discounts’ and won’t allow their forward to leave for ‘for less than €50million’.
Arsenal made three signings in the January transfer window with Jakub Kiwior, Leandro Trossard and Jorginho arriving to help the Gunners push for the Premier League title.
There were some eyebrows raised at the signing of Jorginho from Chelsea after their pursuit of Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo collapsed.
And Jorginho has revealed why he moved to Arsenal, the Italy international told DAZN Italia’s Supertele: “One of the reasons for my move to Arsenal is the presence of Arteta. He called me and in less than two days we did everything.
“I was no longer part of Chelsea’s plans and I accepted Arteta’s call… the coach’s technical project suited my characteristics perfectly.”
Speaking about their defeat to Manchester City and their title prospects, Jorginho added: “We are very happy, we are one of the big names in the Premier League. I’m very happy to have this experience with the Gunners, then in the end we’ll see what happens. Of course, I really believe in winning the championship.
“Against Manchester City, we had chances and we didn’t take them, while we were punished with their chances. I came out of that match more convinced of our strengths because we forced City to throw longs [long ball] from their own box. We were sad about the result, but also calm and confident about the good things done.”
