After yesterday’s friendly against Chelsea, Milan immediately left London and returned to Italy. However, on the plane back to Milan, sporting director Igli Tare was not among the passengers, he stayed behind in England. The reason? To personally follow the developments surrounding Rasmus Højlund, the Manchester United striker and the Rossoneri’s top target to reinforce their attack.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport this morning, after spending the entire 90 minutes on the bench in the friendly against Fiorentina, the Danish forward met with Manchester United’s management and reiterated his desire to stay and fight for his place. United, however, made it clear that with the arrivals of Šeško and Cunha, there is no longer room for him in the squad, and that it would be better for him to find a new team. Højlund still needs convincing, which is why a face-to-face meeting between the player and Tare in the coming hours cannot be ruled out. Tare hopes to return to Milan with the Danish striker’s “yes” in hand. So why doesn’t the former Atalanta man want to leave? It’s a matter of pride, leaving now would feel like admitting failure at United. It’s nothing against Milan; in fact, Rasmus appreciates the Rossoneri’s interest.
The RedBird-owned club does not want, and cannot afford, to wait too long. That’s precisely why Tare stayed in the UK: to gauge how much room there is to resolve the matter quickly. Everything must be settled within this week; otherwise, Milan will move on to another target. There should be no major issues between the two clubs, as they have already agreed on the structure of the deal (paid loan with an option to buy). The discussion now concerns the buyout fee, but the gap between the asking price and the offer has narrowed to the point where both sides are confident of reaching an agreement very soon.
