Rasmus Hojlund’s parents interviewed Dutch super-agent Kees Vos SIX times before they gave him permission to broker their son’s £72million move to Manchester United.
Hojlund, 20, has been billed as ‘the next Erkling Haaland’ after Erik ten Hag identified the Danish international striker as the man to bring goals to his United team. Vos, who also represents Ten Hag through his Sports Entertainment Group company, was tasked with making the deal happen – but only after undergoing a thorough vetting by the striker’s parents Anders Højlund and Kirsten Winther.
The couple put their boy “out to tender” to ensure they secured the best possible deal. Vos, who is a business partner of Pep Guardiola’s brother Pere, made contact through Hojlund’s Atalanta team-mate Marten de Roon, who he also represents.
The Dutchman was stunned to discover he was one of 35 agents vying for the same business, but was invited for an initial interview with the player’s father. A second round of talks followed, which saw Vos summoned to Copenhagen to meet with both parents – and the next stage saw four potential agents invited to the striker’s home in Bergamo to outline their initial proposals.
Two further meetings were then arranged, during which SEG were told of Hojlund’s plan to leave Italy, before a sixth interview saw Vos explain in detail how he would approach clubs to gauge their interest – it was only then that the Dutchman was given the go-ahead to enter into negotiations with United.
Hojlund’s move to United was planned with military precision – which isn’t a surprise given his mum moved into the forces after forging an earlier career as an athlete. His father played amateur football but later moved into construction. They have two younger sons who both play for FC Copenhagen.
Vos said: “It was the lengthiest application process among football agents ever. I had never experienced it like this before. We painted a realistic picture. That is not always the nicest message to give, but we always felt they would choose us.
“If they hadn’t, a lot of costs would have been incurred. That’s how it works. Sometimes earnings are big, other times only costs remain.”
Ten Hag insisted United were happy with their summer acquisition – even with the benefit of Harry Kane hindsight. Kane completed his move to Bayern Munich on Saturday morning, having been linked with a switch to Old Trafford earlier this summer.
“First of all, we have chosen a striker and we are really happy with our choice,” he explained. “[Kane] is a great striker, clear, a goal maker and apart from that he has all the conditions and abilities what you want to see in a striker. It’s a miss for the Premier League, absolutely.”
He won’t be able to call upon his new star straight away however, United begin their league campaign against Wolves on Monday night, but Hojlund is unavailable with a back injury. “So as we said previously, he had a small issue and he’s not on the levels where our players are at in this moment,” Ten Hag added.