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Sasa Kalajdzic wants to join Manchester United in boost for Erik ten Hag
Stuttgart striker Sasa Kalajdzic is keen to join Manchester United this summer in a huge boost to Erik ten Hag, according to reports.
United held talks over Kalajdzic last month and it had been thought they would face a tough battle to sign him – with Bayern Munich previously interested – as the German champions saw him as a long-term Robert Lewandowski replacement.
Ten Hag is eager to bring in a versatile forward this summer, with the club’s need for more firepower heightened by the uncertainty surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo’s future and Paris Saint-Germain’s interest in Marcus Rashford.
Kalajdzic only has one year left on his current deal and is thought to be available for around £20m.
Despite that, former United interim boss Ralf Rangnick has warned Kalajdzic about moving to Manchester and suggested he should remain at his current club.
‘It is important that Sasa remains injury-free this season and trains and plays at the highest possible level,’ Rangnick said.
‘If he stays in Stuttgart this season, it will not be detrimental to his development.’
Kalajdzic is keen to have his future sorted out one way or another, telling DAZN recently: ‘I don’t know myself how my future will turn out but that will become apparent in the next few weeks or as soon as possible, but I can’t influence many things either.’
The towering striker, who is more of an old-fashioned number nine, scored six goals and laid on two assists in 15 Bundesliga games last season but missed a large chunk of the campaign through injury.
In the 2020/21 season, he netted 16 goals and laid on five more while he also impressed at Euro 2020, notably giving eventual champions Italy a host of problems in the last 16.
