Rasmus Hojlund, the 22-year-old Denmark international, finds himself at the center of Manchester United’s ongoing struggles in the Premier League. His current club brought him in from Atalanta for £72 million. While he’s hardly been their only suitable productive senior striker since his arrival, his lackluster output isn’t leaving anybody hopeful. Since manager Ruben Amorim took over in November, Hojlund has only scored twice in the league. This dearth of targets is alarming for his output as your primary centre-forward for a leading Group Premier League aspect.
Hojlund had a good start to the season, racking up five goals in his first four matches in charge of Amorim. Unfortunately, he’s done little to maintain that wave of excitement ever since. His form has paled in comparison to last season, when he scored eight league goals in just eight appearances to start the season. His latest display against Wolverhampton Wanderers showed just how badly they’ve been misused. Positioned less than a yard from goal, Hojlund narrowly missed connecting with a low cross from teammate Alejandro Garnacho, illustrating his current lack of sharpness in front of goal.
Hojlund’s debut performance against Wolves was a perfect example of his usual mix of industry and physicality. It was not enough to secure a win for Manchester United, who faced a record number of free-kicks and corners during the match yet failed to convert those opportunities into goals. The team’s inability to score points exposes a deeper issue. Too many times have key players dropped golden chances to score.
Notably, Hojlund’s struggles have drawn unfavorable comparisons to other leading strikers in the Premier League, including Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah. As he continues to navigate these challenges, both he and the team are under increasing pressure to find a solution.
Manager Ruben Amorim has publicly criticized Hojlund’s displays but insisted that the problem goes beyond just one man. He stated, “If you look at the games we have several players that miss big chances, not just Rasmus.” This underlines a general lack of accountability among the players to work on their finishing.
Amorim acknowledged the importance of goals for a striker, saying, “Of course, for Rasmus, the game is to score goals because he’s a striker, but it’s a team thing. Our team should score more goals. It’s not just Rasmus missing chances.” The manager reinforced that scoring is crucial to the team’s success: “If we don’t score goals nothing matters because in the end it is the result that counts.”
His former manager at FC Copenhagen, Erik ten Hag, is understandably optimistic about his potential. “The only way I know is to work on him and show him the videos,” Ten Hag remarked. He further noted, “He needs to score a goal and he won’t score if he is out [of the team], so I try to manage that during games.”
Manchester United can’t make opportunities into scores. That puts the onus on Hojlund as a striker even more importantly. The team’s recent performances have demonstrated that their scoring woes go beyond the presence or absence of Hojlund. Rather, it is indicative of a wider systematic fight that needs addressing and immediate intervention by the team’s players and coaching staff.
The club’s ownership has been transparent with supporters about the ongoing challenges they face. “We tell the fans the truth that we lack a lot of things in our team, that we miss chances, and that if we don’t score goals we are not going to win,” Amorim admitted.
It’s Hojlund’s individual performance that has everyone buzzing. For all the talk of Tactics Tim, United’s success will be predicated on improved teamwork and a greater cutting edge in the final third. This young striker will need to find his bearings fast as the heat builds on he and his fellow young 20’s attackers.
Moving forward, Amorim hopes to develop a deeper relationship with his players to encourage and inspire continued growth. “The most important thing is to create a connection with the people,” he said. His emphasis on creating energy and confidence in the squad could be the key to getting them back on track from a poor run of results.
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