Football journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Manchester United opted against signing Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins last summer.

The Red Devils were keen to add a striker but decided to sign Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta instead of Watkins who scored 27 goals in all competitions last year for Villa.

In his Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, he said: “It’s been claimed that they [Manchester United] decided not to sign the Aston Villa striker, focusing instead on Ramus Hojlund.

“My information is that they had multiple options on the table, not only Watkins, but they consider Hojlund a huge talent for the future with big potential, so their number one choice in 2023 was always Hojlund.”

Manchester United paid £64 million for Rasmus Hojlund which is a relatively similar mark to Watkins’ value; estimated to be around £55 million.

Ollie Watkins targeted by multiple Premier League clubs

During this summer’s transfer window, Watkins was the subject of much transfer talk in the Premier League as multiple teams wanted to sign him from Villa.

There was reported interest from Chelsea, who ended up not signing a striker despite their pursuit of Watkins and Victor Osimhen over the summer.

Arsenal also monitored Ollie Watkins last season, but their interest wasn’t said to be as concrete as the Blues.

Was Rasmus Hojlund the correct choice for Manchester United?

It is clear that over the past year, Ollie Watkins has been a better player than Rasmus Hojlund, however, the Danish striker has age on his side. Aston Villa’s Watkins is 28 years old whereas Hojlund is just 21 meaning he could easily blossom into a top Premier League striker.

But simply looking at the statistics, Watkins has outperformed Hojlund massively over a two-year spell as he scored 27 goals in all competitions last term whereas Hojlund scored just 16.