Erik ten Hag names target Man Utd failed to sign before striking £72m deal

Erik ten Hag has admitted Manchester United tried and failed to sign Harry Kane last summer before his move to Bayern Munich.

Posted Saturday, May 04, 2024 by 90min.com

Erik ten Hag wanted Man Utd to sign Harry Kane

United had long been seen as favourites to land Kane's signature, particularly after fellow suitors Manchester City committed to Erling Haaland, but the former Tottenham striker ultimately opted to take his talents to Bayern in a deal worth an initial £82m.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Ten Hag did not shy away from his admiration of Kane but backed Rasmus Hojlund to come good for United with a few more years of experience under his belt.

"We have had some choices made with talents like Rasmus Hojlund. I can see a striker who already proved it, who we want to sign and we couldn't get him," Ten Hag initially teased without mention of Kane's name. "And then we went to Rasmus because he's a talent."

When pressed on whether he was talking about Kane, Ten Hag confessed: "Yes, and you know Harry Kane will get you 30 goals. I think Rasmus will get there, but he needs time. It's not fair to assess him the same as Harry Kane. I would never compare two players because they are very different.

"But with Hojlund, I think we had the biggest potential in the striker position last summer and we are very happy with him. But he also needs time to adapt and we are very pleased he showed his assets in scoring goals.

United turned to Hojlund this summer

"He had a very good period where he scored many games after he showed it, but before and after, he had some physical issues, which is normal for a young player coming up. But it has a negative impact on the team result and that's what you have to accept.

"Then you go back to the fans and the opinion makers, and they don't understand or they don't want to understand this. It is how Man United gets judged, they only see the result, but we need time.

"You have to accept the process is going slower and you can't then expect to straight [away] compete for titles in the Champions League and Premier League."

90min understands that United remain in the market for a new striker, with injury-prone Anthony Martial set to leave at the end of his contract and Marcus Rashford in patchy form after playing the majority of the season on the left wing.

RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, Bologna's Joshua Zirkzee and VfB Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy are three players admired by United, but spending this summer is likely to be dictated by the number of outgoings.