Yes, we know Rasmus Hojlund is still a young player at 22. Yes, we know the Dane plays in the world’s toughest league. No, it is no consolation for United or the supporters. On Saturday, the Dane walked off the pitch for the 11th time in a row without scoring.
Alan Shearer, the striker with the most goals in Premier League history, stated in Hojlund’s debut season that he felt sorry for the Dane. For Shearer, it was crazy to give a new player the main responsibility of scoring from a striker position at one of the world’s biggest clubs. The English icon thought Hojlund should be allowed to play hot in the Premier League as a backup for an experienced striker.
Manchester United had invested £72 million in the Dane and there was no room for a slow start with “watch, try and learn”.
Many believe that Højlund does not get enough to work with at the top, but those who have followed the movements, the space Højlund does not create and the finishes that do not hit the mark, show that his teammates do not have a send-the-ball-to-Rasmus-for-goal perception of Højlund’s capacity in the Premier League arena.
United legend Andy Cole stated in March 2024 that he thought Hojlund was almost doomed to fail as a rookie and at the same time United’s first striker.
“When I came to Manchester United (January 1995), I had Sparky (Mark Hughes), and Eric (Cantona), who moved on. But Yorkey (Dwight Yorke) came in, Ole (Solskjaer), Teddy (Sheringham), and I sincerely like to think we learned from each other,” Cole began.
“Now we have a young man who has come in and everyone says he’s Manchester United’s number nine, but then they say ‘he doesn’t have the experience to be Manchester United’s number nine,'” Cole said.
One year later, we see all too well that Shearer and Andy Cole were right. Manchester United made a cardinal mistake by betting everything on a young striker with 34 games in Italy to deliver the 20-30 goals Manchester United needs from a striker.
When three Italian big clubs also start to position themselves for Hojlund’s signing, we understand that the 22-year-old’s Man United dream is coming to an end.
