Arsenal and Real Madrid in battle to sign striker dubbed the 'next Haaland'

Since signing from Austrian side Sturm Graz for £15 million in the summer, the youngster has netted seven goals in 21 games.

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This has made him the club's joint second top scorer this campaign behind ex-Premier League star Ademola Lookman.

As a result, the Danish striker has attracted attention from many top clubs across Europe, according to La Republicca.

The Italian outlet also report that it's European giants Real Madrid and Arsenal in particular that are keen on signing him.

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Los Blancos are understood to be looking for someone to come in to prepare to take over from Ballon d'Or winning striker Karim Benzema.

Meanwhile the Gunners are also interested in adding the Dane to their options up top alongside Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah.

Hojlund has been getting in the Serie A side's starting XI over Duván Zapata and Luis Muriel and his goals have helped to push them up to sixth in the league.

And he's already been compared to his country's superstar striker Haaland by his Atalanta boss, too.

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"The characteristics are very similar, especially in accelerations," Gian Piero Gasperini said.

"He is a very fast player, he does the 100 meters in less than 11 seconds. For his height, he has a low centre of gravity and an incredible stride frequency.

"I'm convinced he will have a great career. Technically, he always shows different and better things".

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Hojlund started his senior career at Copenhagen after coming through their youth system and scored five goals in 32 appearances before making the move to Austria for £1million.

He scored 12 goals in 21 games across all competitions during the remainder of the 2021/22 season and the start of the 2022/23 season for Sturm Graz before moving on to Atalanta last summer.

The sought-after star also made his debut for the Denmark national team last year and has two caps for his country.

Those appearances included coming on as a substitute in their 2-0 Nations League win over France.