I think he's obviously not a right fit and needs to go but not sure how many takers there will be - he'll probably get loaned out if we get someone in to put him in the shop window.
9
Season Average Rating
- Appearances
- 48
- Goals
- 10
- Assists
- 2
- Yellow cards
- 2
-
Nik (@Rood) and Imran (@Annihilate Now!) discuss United's fantastic win away against Athletic Club in the semi-final of the Europa League.
They also pick out the positives of United's 4-3 loss away at Brentford, and Nik reviews a day out at Old Trafford watching Manchester United Women qualify for the Champions League.
It's nuts.
I was thinking recently that it's useful to have some past pedigree when signing youngsters. Especially for big fees. On the higher end, everyone knew for years - long before his debut - that Yamal was special. Cherki too, although it took him longer to start fulfilling that early promise. Bellingham, Musiala & Simons are all currently living up to their teenage hype. Kids like Gittens, Duranville, Doku, Skelly, Cubarsi etc were similar. Not just playing but starring at every age range for club and country.
It doesn't always work out but it speaks to an inherent level of talent.
Hojlund never had that. He managed 3 goals in 21 games for Denmark's youth sides (mostly Under 16 and Under 19).
At Copenhagen he was a youngster and understandably couldn't displace 21 year old Jonas Wind, who was a solid enough 1 in 3 striker. Wind was eventually sold to Wolfsburg for £8m but Hojlund still wasn't trusted to take over. Copenhagen instead went with 30 year old Free transfer Khouma Babacar, who's currently playing in the Turkish second division. Hojlund was sold for £1.5m, having scored 0 goals in 19 league games. He did bag some in the Conference League but wasn't considered a credible prospect to lead the line for them.
At Sturm Graz he scored 1 in his first 11 games but then went on a hot streak, scoring 8 in his next 9. Just 7 months after arriving he signed for Atalanta for £14m.
Atalanta he was similarly patchy. Again he started with 1 goal in his first 11 games and ended up finishing with 10 goals across all competitions.
Then we come in. Exactly 17 months after he left Copenhagen without a single league goal to his name we choose to drop a transfer fee of up to £72 million on him.
Nothing in his career REMOTELY suggests he was that level of talent. It's one of the strangest transfers ever made.
It makes you wonder what some fans even see in him.
I did a bit of a dive into his games for Atalanta and he didn't score against any of the top teams outside of Bologna who finished 9th. The only game I saw of him at Atalanta was against Napoli and he was subbed after 45 minutes cos he was fecking woeful against Kim
He hasn´t looked as mobile this season as he did last year. It´s like he´s carrying a knock or something.
Personally, I would loan him out. He´s still got masses of time left on his contract, and if he went to say the Eredivisie and banged in a few goals, he might at least get some confidence back. You would then assess whether it would be worth trying to reintegrate him into the team or to sell.
Even though last season he was not more than just ´good´overall, he was still so much better performance wise, even when he didn´t have those couple of scoring runs. His general play was miles better.
Personally, I would loan him out. He´s still got masses of time left on his contract, and if he went to say the Eredivisie and banged in a few goals, he might at least get some confidence back. You would then assess whether it would be worth trying to reintegrate him into the team or to sell.
Even though last season he was not more than just ´good´overall, he was still so much better performance wise, even when he didn´t have those couple of scoring runs. His general play was miles better.
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What horrible, lazy analysis: oh, it's a back five, so it must be defensive and deep.
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Its very defensive in the current form/players we have and you are mistaken if you assume it is not. But that is different discussion.
He is not a good striker but he is even worse when you ask him to score via header or via tap-ins. He is very bad in judging the ball.
He is only decent in running through the channels and/or getting the ball in the box and shooting them. That is the only hope for him to score.
Any ways I don't have much hope for him in this formation.
How long has he been at the club? I think we've been more than patient enough to find that player. Thing is when players go through dips in form its usually then try and get the basics right, pass, move, tackle, involve yourself in the game. Look at Hojlund stats each game, it's diabolical because he doesn't even get that right.
2 seasons and season one he scored 15 which was a decent starting point.
He is not even quick anymore. So often the CB is quicker than him. It also not a confidence issue - he is just not good
Think we'd be hasty to sell him tbh. We'll very obviously sign a striker to be start for us next season. Would like to see how Rasmus gets on being a bench and rotation option for a bit, and in a better team. Confidence goes a long way.
Noted but he won't be good enough for United if we aspire to get back to challenging for the title in a couple years. No idea who or what was the final say for plonking down 70 million for him. This is Gyokeres money.
To be fair, it was supposedly 62+bonus that no doubt will never be realised, if that helps at all?
Yeah he’s turned out to be a shocking transfer, absolutely need another striker and he needs to be benched/loaned/sold, for his own good really as I do feel sorry for the boy.
To be fair, it was supposedly 62+bonus that no doubt will never be realised, if that helps at all?
Yeah he’s turned out to be a shocking transfer, absolutely need another striker and he needs to be benched/loaned/sold, for his own good really as I do feel sorry for the boy.
Oh right. My apologies i got the figure wrong. Problem is who is going to take him considering his performances are so poor at the moment.
Why was he consider such a big prospect to begin with?
His stats were middling at best and his only asset seemed to be his top speed.
His stats were middling at best and his only asset seemed to be his top speed.
No, none of that mate. No assumptions here, just analyzing the game, so give me specifics. I'm tired of tacticos on here and elsewhere just stating that it's defensive without considering the dynamics of the game and HOW we actually play. None of this 'oh, it's five at the back, so it's got to be defensive'. This ain't MOTD or Talksport.
Rooney could play football. Hojlund can barely trap a ball.
As someone who watched both Rooney and Ronaldo come up, I'm baffled at how you can look at Hojlund and compare him with Rooney.
Said it countless times: Charlie Adams was young once too.
The red shirt. Seen it before at Liverpool with Dirk Kuyt, the World's Best Defensive Winger (TM). Sad that it's happening to us now, but there you go.
If you read carefully, I didn't compare them. I said young players can be streaky and then improve their consistency, such as Rooney did. Therefore at 22 Hojlund can also improve vs himself. You don't need to get up and arms and infer I'm saying he's going to become Rooney. His model is probably more Lukaku.
His scoring record last year was not dissimilar to an early Rooney season to point out.
Shearer would know a thing or two about being a successful striker in England, wouldn't he?
I don't think Hojlund was this bad when he started out with us. Not only did the club's recruitment and squad planning sabotage our performances this season by having a center forward nullifying any good work around him, but I am afraid we have also managed to sabotage the development of a young player by throwing him into the most high pressure environment he could be in when he is not ready. Maybe there's a potential PL level player in there, maybe he's not good enough for this level. Either way, this is a completely wrong approach to developing a player, and we're paying a very heavy price both on and off the pitch for this idiotic decision making. Hojlund is as much a victim of this environment as the rest of the team is a victim of his poor game up top.
Our transfers this summer must get this kid out of the firing line in order for anything to be salvaged from his young career.
He will be out the firing line as he'll be sold. No ambitious club would keep a player as bad as Hojlund
Agree with this 100% when we signed him it was a case of getting him and a proven striker in, the proven striker never arrived and he was left to lead the line which was madness. Like Shearer said you would need to be exceptional to do that and Rasmus isn’t there yet. It’s been poor management by the club and Obi will go through the same thing unless recruitment is done correctly
I’m sure this transfer had nothing to do with him being represented by Ten Hag’s agent.
Is he going to "turn it around" elsewhere when we sell him, or is he walking the Obertan path?
Looks like the latter right now.
Looks like the latter right now.
He’s just not good enough in this system.
I think Hojlund will do okay, but he is not the big talent we thought he was. If INEOS are serious about us challenging for the league in the future, he’s not the striker to lead the line.
What determines your level in football is not how technically good you are - it's how quickly, aggressively and consistently you can perform your skills.
There's strikers in the Conference or League Two who'd never miss in training if you gave them 20 shots from various positions on the edge of the box - but they would have the speed, the movement, the nous, the aggressiveness in their actions, the instinct to repeat that at a higher level.
This is why Hojlund always looks completely lost. It's why his shots on target and touches in the opposition area etc...are ridiculously low. He's not able to get into games because he's just miles and miles off it.
Now...in time, he might, might develop some of these skills and become more effective...but he won't achieve that here because he'll need to be playing regularly week-in, week-out for someone in a weaker league.
Kindest thing would be a loan, let's see if he can score some goals in Holland or Germany and then move him on. I don't see him hitting the levels Forlan did, but Forlan is an example of too much too soon - United was too much but he developed well elsewhere.
There's strikers in the Conference or League Two who'd never miss in training if you gave them 20 shots from various positions on the edge of the box - but they would have the speed, the movement, the nous, the aggressiveness in their actions, the instinct to repeat that at a higher level.
This is why Hojlund always looks completely lost. It's why his shots on target and touches in the opposition area etc...are ridiculously low. He's not able to get into games because he's just miles and miles off it.
Now...in time, he might, might develop some of these skills and become more effective...but he won't achieve that here because he'll need to be playing regularly week-in, week-out for someone in a weaker league.
Kindest thing would be a loan, let's see if he can score some goals in Holland or Germany and then move him on. I don't see him hitting the levels Forlan did, but Forlan is an example of too much too soon - United was too much but he developed well elsewhere.
Needs a loan next season and hopefully we can get a decent striker in with Chido and Zirkzee as back up
He looks unfit. Not sure who dropped the ball here, him or the staff or combination of things but he's lost whatever pace and stamina he had when he first started and is moving like a 38 years old that's about to retire.
Part of it is lack of confidence, I'm sure but it can't be only that, there's something physiologically wrong with his man, he's fecking 22, he should be as fit as it gets.
Part of it is lack of confidence, I'm sure but it can't be only that, there's something physiologically wrong with his man, he's fecking 22, he should be as fit as it gets.
I want this Hojlund back
He looks like a player who knows he is not cut out for this level. Will probably do better going down a level and resetting. Maybe he can get his career back on track that way. He needs to leave for his own sake in my opinion and of course we need better than him too. However I do not think it would do him any good to try and stick it out here and fight for his place
Hopefully Juventus see this and offer us £35m. Not his fault as he should not be leading the line on his own at our current state, but his confidence is shot and I doubt he’ll get it back. Similar to Forlan and if it turns out like Forlan I’m sure he will be more than happy with this career.
I think he's bulked up too much and completely less mobile this season and awkward, bit like when Torres when to Chelsea. If he cuts a bit of the muscle might be back playing okay again.
The muscle doesn't suit his qualities whatsoever and has seemed to slow his acceleration, ball control, movement, basically everything. He wasn't as bad as this last season.
It's becoming increasingly likely that what we see week to week is actually his true self, and this video was a purple patch over a handful of games.
He's about to make his 200th senior appearance this weekend. For all the talk of how young he is, how many young players who have gone on to great things have still been so raw and performing poorly at 200 appearances?
We're not even getting flashes of brilliance.
He does look heavier this season.
But it has to be remembered, he didn't score in 21 league games last season. Was it 14 games before he got his first?
Just ridiculous career management from the club. ETH should have been raging at his signing. Signing a 20 year old with no goalscoring record to be the starting 9 for United. Crazy stuff.
Incredible how fast this kid went from number 1 name to keep in a rebuild to number 1 reason why the league position is so bad.
We lost one attacking player. Last season we had atleast 3 players in the box from either side. Lets say we are attacking from left , we had left winger, striker and attacking midfielder in the attack. And most of the times right midfielder joining the attack as well. But this season, when left winger is in attacking position, all he has is the striker and right winger.
Basic assumption in current formation is that wing-backs attack more than when they were playing as left-back/right-back which is not true , atleast in the current setup and players. Dorgu and Dalot are playing exactly same way as they would have been playing if they were left/right backs.
So, the wingbacks are not attacking more , the centre midfielders are doing the same job as earlier in 4-3-3. What we essentially have are 3 defenders instead of 2.
Now, this could potentially be fixed , if the entire 5 man defense move 20 yards up and play high defense. May be next season.
He can also just hands in transfer request, if he truly feels that he's a victim in all this.
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I wonder if we could get him a proper fitness coach over the summer, try to shed some weight. I have a feeling he's suffering from that weird United thing that happens where young players seem to discover the weight room, and get massive (likely for vanity reasons) only to then slow down a step and lose some stamina due to the increased mass.
We're stuck with him so might as well try and maximise the asset.
I also wonder why Amorim can't seem to coach him.
We're stuck with him so might as well try and maximise the asset.
I also wonder why Amorim can't seem to coach him.
This. He's clearly bigger this season.