'I wanted Kane' - Ten Hag
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag regrets not being able to sign Harry Kane but insists Rasmus Hojlund will fulfil his high potential.
Former Tottenham striker Kane was a target for United during the summer transfer window before the England captain chose to join Bayern Munich instead.
He has gone on to plunder 43 goals in 43 games for the Bundesliga giants, albeit in a season where they have failed to win the league for the first time in 10 years.
Meanwhile, United signed Denmark international Hojlund for £72 million from Atalanta and he has scored 14 times in all competitions so far in his debut season for the Red Devils.
Ten Hag appreciates what he missed out on when Kane went elsewhere and says United have been gazumped in the transfer market on more than one occasion.
"There's an expectation around every game from us [but] you can only fulfil that expectation when you have those outstanding players," Ten Hag told Gary Neville in an interview on Sky Sports.
"But in the last decade and in this period, we couldn't always get the players we wanted.
"Then you have to build and you have to accept that you get talent in instead of players who have already proved it in the past. We have had some choices made with talents like Rasmus Hojlund.
"I can see a striker [Kane] who already proved it, who we want[ed] to sign and we couldn't get him. And then we went to Rasmus because he's a talent.
"With Harry Kane you know you get 30 goals. I think Rasmus will get there but he needs time.
"It's not fair to assess him the same as Harry Kane. I would never compare two players because they are very different. But with Rasmus Hojlund, we get the highest potential in the striker position last summer.
"We are very happy with him, but he also needs time to adapt. We are very pleased he has shown his capacity to score goals."
