Sandro Tonali inadvertently provided Manchester United with a €46million (£39million) transfer windfall, according to a fresh report.
According to Metro, United are unwilling to spend more than £60million on Rasmus Hojlund and will move on to other targets if Atalanta refuse to drop their asking price.
The Denmark international has already agreed personal terms with the Old Trafford club, however, negotiations between Atalanta and United are reportedly at a stalemate. The Serie A side value Hojlund at £86million - an asking price United consider to be excessive.
The clubs remain in negotiations, however, with United hoping that a compromise can be reached.
The Premier League outfit reportedly attempted to drive down the price by offering the likes of Donny van de Beek, Mason Greenwood or Amad Diallo in part-exchange. However, Atalanta rejected this proposal and are holding out for a straight fee for the 20-year-old.
Financial Fair Play constraints mean United have just £120million to spend this summer, with almost £100million of that budget having been spent on Andre Onana and Mason Mount.
However, the sale of Tonali to Newcastle has seen United save around £39million.Earlier this month United completed the £47.2million signing of Onana from Inter, with the Cameroonian putting pen to paper on a five-year deal, with the option of a further year.
Onana replaced David De Gea, who left the Old Trafford club after 12 years as first-choice shot-stopper.
However, as per the Athletic, United scouts also rated AC Milan’s Mike Maignan highly before opting to sign Onana.
Executives from both clubs reportedly met in Milan around the Champions League semi-final in May to discuss Maignan, but the France international was ultimately considered too expensive.
This is because Milan sold Tonali to Newcastle for a fee in the region of €70million, which made Maignan’s price rise to €100million.
In turn, United signed Onana, with the Cameroon sho-stopper costing them an initial €51million (£43.8million), plus €4million (£3.4million) in potential add-ons. Overall that is some £39million less than his French counter-part.
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