Manchester United might have a wildcard striker target who is available for £34m

It took Rasmus Hojlund until December to score his first goal in the Premier League.

Manchester United invested £72million to sign Hojlund from Atalanta last summer and he was signed because the club believed he could become one of Europe's best strikers.

Hojlund scored five goals in the Champions League group stage, but it took him months to break his duck in the league and he looked relieved when finding the net on December 26.

The forward only celebrated his 21st birthday in February and United knew they were signing potential. Hojlund made a promising start to fulfilling that potential in Manchester but there's no denying another striker is required to support him in the 2024/25 campaign.

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It was unfair to expect Hojlund to shoulder the burden of scoring United's goals on his own last season and it would be foolish to continue with him as the only recognised striker.

Although Anthony Martial was on the books last term, he cannot be relied upon and only played 620 minutes, which left Hojlund as the sole striker. The Frenchman is leaving on a free transfer and it's crucial United replace him with a striker who can compete with Hojlund.

Hojlund scored 16 goals in 43 appearances, which represented a respectable return in his first season in England, but there were times when he struggled and that was expected. It will be fascinating to see how many goals Hojlund can produce next term and whether the arrival of another forward this summer will spur him onto another level.

United must sign a new core of the team: a striker, a midfielder and a centre-back. They have budgeted for those positions and any other arrivals would be offset by sales. Fans will be particularly excited about the prospect of signing a new striker because scoring goals makes more headlines than keeping clean sheets - that's just how the game works.

United don't have the money to sign an elite striker, nor are they in the position to persuade one of the world's best forwards to sign. The Reds might have lifted the FA Cup, but they finished eighth in the Premier League and that will impact the calibre of players they can attract.

Nonetheless, United are still the biggest club in England, they pay lucrative wages and qualifying for the Europa League thanks to their FA Cup success is a huge boost in the market.

"Definitely it will have an impact on the budget, but I'm sure Manchester United is a very attractive team and club to play for," said Erik ten Hag in May about missing out on Champions League football. "Many players will be very happy to play for Manchester United, I'm sure."

Perhaps one of the players who would be delighted to join United could be Joshua Zirkzee, whose goals in Serie A helped Bologna qualify for the Champions League.

Bologna defied the odds to finish in the Italian top four last term. They enjoyed their best season since 1967/1968 and Zirkzee started 32 out of a possible 38 league games.

Zirkzee contributed 11 goals and five assists in those appearances and although he wasn't prolific, that was a decent return and he's still only 23 years old. A product of Bayern Munich's academy, Zirkzee joined Bologna in August 2022 and began to find his groove last season.

He finished the campaign as Bologna's top goalscorer and he's believed to have a release clause of £34million, with United, Arsenal and AC Milan all said to be interested.

Reports in Italy suggest Milan are pushing to sign Zirkzee and that demonstrates why United needed to clarify their managerial situation - they couldn't afford to lose any more time.

The transfer window opens for Premier League sides on Friday and £34m for a striker of Zirkzee's profile is good value. United can now advance their efforts to sign them with a decision on Ten Hag having been communicated.