Man Utd: Senior figures ‘shocked’ by mammoth fee paid by Ten Hag as ‘confidence’ in him waning

Erik ten Hag is coming under increasing pressure at Old Trafford

A former Premier League scout has detailed how “senior football people” in Denmark were “shocked” by the price paid for Rasmus Hojlund, while he has “no confidence” in Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

Hojlund broke onto the list of United’s 10 most-expensive signings when they paid £72million for him from Atalanta in the summer. A lot of the players around him on that list had good spells at their previous clubs.

Angel Di Maria and Casemiro both joined from Real Madrid, Romelu Lukaku had shown he could score goals consistently in the Premier League, and Jadon Sancho was one of the most promising talents in Europe.

In the season preceding Hojlund’s mammoth move, the striker scored nine Serie A goals for Atalanta.

As a result, senior figures in Denmark are said to have been shocked when he commanded the fee that he did.

“Nobody was more shocked [by Hojlund’s fee] than the senior football people who live in Denmark,” a scout told the Insider Track.

“To think that Man United paid £72million for this boy – he’s way off the mark.

“For them to come in and claim that they have the new Erling Haaland, it’s difficult for him.”

The scout feels that Hojlund needs to trust that Ten Hag can turn him into a thriving asset at United, but admits that might be hard, as he himself does not have confidence in the Red Devils boss.

“He should have confidence in the manager, but I don’t, to be honest,” the scout added.

“Ten Hag does not generate that personality that I’m looking for in a Man United manager.”

While Hojlund’s start at United wasn’t the best, particularly in the Premier League, things are looking up. He notched five goals in the Champions League group stage, but went 14 games in the league before he found the net.

He followed up his first – a winner against Aston Villa – with the opening goal in a game against high-flying Tottenham.

Both Hojlund and United will obviously hope that his goalscoring form continues and he begins to justify the lofty sum the club paid for him.

Should that happen, pressure on Ten Hag might also begin to seep away, with sack talk bubbling amid the poor period the Red Devils are undergoing.