Erik ten Hag admits Man United “couldn’t get” their number one target Harry Kane and turned to £72m Rasmus Hojlund as second choice as they open up to transfers.

• Erik ten Hag says United signed Rasmus Hojlund because they couldn’t get Harry Kane
• Ten Hag stated that it is not fair to make comparisons between Hojlund and Kane
• It’s that time of the season! Who are the five best players of the season? Listen It’s all starting! podcast

Erik ten Hag admitted that Manchester United signed Rasmus Hojlund last summer because they couldn’t bring in Harry Kane.

Hojlund joined United for £72m from Atalanta for £72m, and Kane joined Bayern Munich from Tottenham for £100m.

So far in his first season at United, Hojlund has scored eight goals in 26 Premier League games, while Kane has found the net 35 times in 31 Bundesliga games for Bayern.

Ten Hag admitted it is unfair to compare the two players and supported Hojlund, 21, to continue progressing.

Speaking in an interview with Gary Neville on Sky Sports about the type of players United can sign, Ten Hag said: “They can only be outstanding players.” They are players who have all the skills, that is, the physical and especially mental skills that they need to perform and contribute because we have to win every game.

“There’s an expectation from us in every game, so you can only meet that expectation when you have those outstanding players.”

“But in the last decade and in this period, we couldn’t always get the players we wanted.” But then you have to build and accept that you are getting talent instead of players who have already proven it in the past.

‘We have made some decisions with talents like Rasmus Hojlund. I see a forward who has already proven it, who we want to sign and we couldn’t get it. And then we went to Rasmus because he’s talented.

Ten Hag was then asked if he was referring to Kane as the missing striker, to which he replied: “Yes, and you know Harry Kane will get you 30 goals.” I think Rasmus will get there, but he needs time. It is not fair to value him the same as Harry Kane. He would never compare two players because they are very different.

“But I think with Hojlund we had the most potential in the forward position last summer and we are very happy with him. But he also needs time to adapt and we are very happy that he has shown his qualities by scoring goals.”

United have struggled defensively this season and injuries have not helped their cause. Ten Hag’s team has conceded 51 goals in the Premier League.

Ten Hag, who has held talks with the club’s new manager Jason Wilcox, declared he will not play it safe as he attempts to fix United’s defense this summer.

He said: ‘Now we have to take things quickly because summer is approaching. A very important summer is approaching. “We want to take the next step in our team and also make plans to create an environment that avoids this year’s injury problems.”

United currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League having struggled for consistency this season and face a battle just to secure a place in the Europa Conference League play-off round.

Ten Hag’s team was eliminated from the Champions League in the group stage and was eliminated in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup. However, they have reached the FA Cup final for the second consecutive season and will seek revenge against rivals Manchester City.