Erik ten Hag confirms Man United wanted to sign 43-goal striker

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has confirmed that he wanted to sign former Tottenham striker Harry Kane last summer.

The Red Devils were in the market to sign a new striker and they had identified Kane as their potential signing.

However, the move for the England captain did not materialise and he joined Bayern Munich in a club record move.

Kane has been in sensational form for the Bundesliga club since his move, scoring 43 goals this season and registering 11 assists.

Man United went on to sign Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta, a young striker with a promising future, but they failed in signing a proven goal scorer in Kane.

In an interview with Gary Neville on Sky Sports, the Man United boss has claimed that Kane’s ability to score 30 goals in a season was the reason behind the club’s pursuit of the former Premier League attacker.

Ten Hag told Sky Sports:

“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. And then we went to Rasmus because he’s a talent.”

The former Ajax manager was asked if he meant Harry Kane:

“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.”

The Red Devils lack a prolific goal scorer

Man United’s need for a proven and experienced attacker is there for everyone to see.

The Red Devils have scored 52 goals in the league so far this season, the lowest among teams in the top half of the table.

Ten Hag’s team has struggled in almost every single position, starting from the goalkeeper to the defense, from midfield to attack.

Hojlund has impressed at Man United

If they had signed Kane they wouldn’t have to worry about scoring goals.

Hojlund is starting to develop and take his game to the next level but he is not the finished article.

The Danish international has scored 14 goals this season and considering there is room for improvement, he could get better next season.