GdS: Tare stays in England to work on Man Utd striker – the deadline and alternatives

Rasmus Hojlund must be convinced to join AC Milan, but Igli Tare cannot wait forever in the pursuit of a striker.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tare didn’t board the plane that took Milan back to Italy yesterday after the friendly against Chelsea. The director remained in England, primarily to closely monitor the developments surrounding the Manchester United striker, the club’s top attacking target.

On Saturday evening, Hojlund – after staying on the bench for 90 minutes against Fiorentina at Old Trafford – met with the Red Devils’ management. Despite being told that with there’s no longer a place for him at United after the signings of Cunha and Sesko, he wants to stay and fight for a spot.

The Dane is convinced he can compete by staying under Ruben Amorim, a manager who has actually already decided to let him go. It cannot be ruled out that Tare himself will try to speak to the Dane face-to-face in the next few hours, after the striker was approached in recent days by an intermediary.

Milan set a deadline

A few days ago, Milan identified Hojlund as an interesting opportunity, needing to pair Santiago Gimenez with another top-tier striker. Once United opened up to a loan with option, both sides were confident they could reach an agreement, the deal unexpectedly stalled due to the player’s wishes.

Hojlund is reluctant to leave Manchester primarily for reasons of pride: he has nothing against Milan, and in fact appreciates the Rossoneri’s attention. There’s no guarantee he won’t change his mind (as some reports in England suggest he has).

Interestingly, the former Atalanta man already made it clear he’d prefer a permanent move over a loan, should the Red Devils insist on him packing his bags. The Rossoneri, however, won’t wait forever for him.

Indeed, Tare has remained in England to try to understand how much leeway there is to resolve the situation quickly. The Albanian sporting director has given himself a week to close the deal. Otherwise, Milan will begin to (re)consider other options.

What are those other options? Dusan Vlahovic, for whom the obstacles are well known, plus Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson and Gonçalo Ramos of PSG. All three, though, will not be easy to get either.