"We have had some choices made with talents like Rasmus Hojlund," explained Erik ten Hag in an interview hosted by Gary Neville on Sky Sports.
"I can see a striker who already proved it, who we want to sign and we couldn't get him. And then we went to Rasmus because he's a talent."
Neville wondered if Ten Hag was referencing Harry Kane, to which he replied: "Yes, and you know Kane will get you 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 Hojlund, I think we had the biggest potential in the striker position last summer and we are very happy with him. But he also needs time to adapt and we are very pleased he showed his assets in scoring goals.
"He had a very good period where he scored many games after he showed it, but before and after, he had some physical issues, which is normal for a young player coming up.
"But it has a negative impact on the team result and that's what you have to accept. Then you go back to the fans and the opinion makers, and they don't understand or they don't want to understand this.
"It is how Manchester United gets judged, they only see the result, but we need time.
"You have to accept the process is going slower and you can't then expect to straight [away] compete for titles in the Champions League and Premier League."
Kane ended up joining Bayern Munich and he's tearing it up in the Bundesliga this season, with 43 goals and 11 assists across competitions.
At the time, reports claimed Man United stopped pursuing Kane as he was deemed too expensive.
In contrast, Man United have scored 52 goals in the Premier League - tied with 10th-placed Bournemouth for the worst possible record among top 10 clubs.
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