We have seen Rasmus Hojlund angry and frustrated on the pitch before, but against Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester it took off. After the game, where the Dane once again went off the field without scoring, Højlund’s many outbursts were a topic of discussion at the press conference. Ruben Amorim took it very calmly, but also sends a hint as big as a barn door that this will not last in the long run.
The 22-year-old hasn’t scored since December 12, a total of 14 games without delivering what he was brought to Old Trafford for. Against Leicester, Hojlund screamed at teammates out of frustration at not getting passes.
“I think it’s a good thing. I don’t want to say a single bad word about that kind of behavior,” Amorim begins.
Then comes the lesson from the United manager.
-He has to understand that sometimes he has to do a job without touching the ball. He must not get so frustrated, because in the next moment he could be in a situation close to the goal, so he has to be calm,” Amorim continues.
As also in front of the microphone, Højlund gives his support.
“But he’s a character, and if you know players with the kind of character that he has from that country, they always want more. They want to score, they feel the criticism. So that’s a good thing. But he wants to improve, says Amorim.
The day before the Leicester game, Amorim was asked about the all-time top scorer U18 Premier League player, Chido Obi-Martin, who had recently scored on his debut from the start for United’s U21 team. When will Amorim bring up the striker with the confidence Højlund can now only dream of?
Amorim showed no rush to bring the 17-year-old up to the first team, but concluded that the situation must be evaluated in the latter part of the season.
-… We’ll see at the end of the season. But until then, we have two strikers who can score goals, they have proven that before,” said Amorim.
Joshua Zirkzee did the job against Leicester, a Rasmus Hojlund didn’t.
It doesn’t take too many games like this for Hojlund for Amorim to speed up the debut of Obi-Martin, who has an Erling Haaland density in scoring.
