Arsenal and Real Madrid are two clubs that are enjoying the current campaign. The Gunners, after missing out on UEFA Champions League football last season, are in the midst of a brilliant title race and are top of the table. Los Blancos, on the other hand, trail Barcelona in La Liga but have already won the FIFA Club World Cup title.
Regardless, these two European giants are on the lookout for future signings to bolster their current squad, and according to one Italian news outlet, the English and Spanish teams have their eyes on one player in particular.
That person is Rasmus Hojlund, a talented striker whose stocks are rising tremendously in the Italian top flight. The 20-year-old currently plies his trade at Atalanta and has been garnering attention after working his way into La Dea's lineup.
The Danish talent is a 6'4 forward likened to Haaland by Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini due to his height, speed, and technique. Additionally, despite being young with room for improvement, Rasmus is already exhibiting clinicalness in front of goal in one of Europe's top five leagues, scoring an impressive six times in 11 starts for his team.
"Hojlund has this spirit, energy, intensity, but also technical quality that is just remarkable," Gasperini said earlier this month, as per Football Italia.
"He still has so much margin for improvement, too. He has very similar characteristics to Haaland, not just his face. He is so quick, he's under 11 seconds over 100m and that's not even trying very hard. Considering his height, he has a low center of gravity and can move his legs very fast. I am convinced he'll have a great career, he just gets stronger every day."
And according to La Repubblica, Hojlund, who only moved from Sturm Graz to Bergamo over the summer, is now being closely followed by Arsenal and Real Madrid. The Spanish giants have reportedly sent scouts to watch the Dane while the Premier League outfit are said to be preparing a significant offer for the 20-year-old.
Mikel Arteta currently has two recognizable strikers at his disposal and they are Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah. The Brazilian only moved to the Emirates Stadium over the summer while the Englishman signed a new deal during that same period. However, neither Jesus nor Nketiah is your all-rounded striker that is fast, strong, clinical, and a target man.
As for Real Madrid, Karim Benzema is their only reliable striker at the moment and with the Frenchman being 35, there is a need to offer him competition.
However, it would be interesting to see how this pursuit would fare given their recent deal for Endrick, with the Brazilian prodigy set to join the Spanish heavyweights in 2024.
