Rasmus Hojlund image 9

Rasmus Hojlund Denmark flag

2024-25 Performances

View full 2024-25 profile

4.9 Season Average Rating
Appearances
31
Goals
7
Assists
1
Yellow cards
1
Do we have a habit of always picking poor players? Or do we fail to develop players with potential, and make them worse?

Or a combination of the two?
 
Rozay said:
Stats stats stats. Use your eyes. Fed up of this lazy, AI approach to football. We’re not stupid, everyone knows what a promising young footballer looks like. There was no campaign for Ronaldo to be sold in 2004 because he ‘only got 5 goals in 4738382 mins’. Rooney didn’t score his career best in his first couple of seasons. All we need is moments that demonstrate why a player is worth the wait, and Rooney and Ronaldo had plenty of those (many of which did not result in G/A. Just simply exhibitions of talent).

People would have far more patience, optimism, faith, hope or whatever with Hojlund if he simply looked like a good footballer. The false, lazy and simplistic narrative is that people have simply given up on him because he hasn’t scored 20 goals. The lazy and simplistic response to that would be to say ‘neither did Isak at 22’. The difference between Isak and Hojlund this season is a lot more than 15 league goals. It’s an enormous difference in ability to play football. Last night, Isak didn’t score a goal, yet won MOTM against one of the best teams in the country.

There’s a reason why every top club in the PL was chasing Tel in January, despite him not having scored 20 in a season. Not every young forward without impressive numbers is the same. Similarly, Hojlund scoring 17 goals last season was not the same as Martial scoring 17 goals in his first season. Hojlund doesn’t have top level ability, and frankly, would need to score an incredible amount of goals to justify his place at a club like this, because he obviously doesn’t have the ability of other supremely talented footballers to influence games at the highest level in other ways. There are zero statistics that formed the basis of excitement around Kobbie Mainoo when he broke through last summer, and zero statistics that would justify the price tag we would put on him on the market. Just watch the game and you will see the potential. McTominay recorded better numbers than Mainoo last season from midfield, yet it was obvious who the club would prefer to sell.

The players you listed had no business at s club like Manchester United at those ages, and they were not there. The only 20 year old strikers who should be signed for clubs like ours are those who have the obvious talent to be amongst the best strikers in the world, regardless of their numbers in the present. A club would spend 60m on a 17 year old with only one goal to his name if they thought he was special. This has very little to do with stats. We should not be signing 20 year old strikers with the talent of Hojlund. Not for 70m and not even for the 40m that everyone says is his true value. You simply don’t sign an undeveloped 20 year old striker unless he has world-class potential. Otherwise, you buy a young player who isn’t ready, in the hope that several hundred games later, he becomes what exactly? ‘Good?’ I would sign Martial at 19 10 times over for big money again. It made obvious sense. Hojlund was no young Martial.

Anyone attacking those for questioning Hojlund can only be defending him because he plays for Manchester United. There is no way that this same player would have the same excuses made for them at any other club.
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Thank you for this. Put in better words than I could manage.

We have seen enough supremely talented young players at this club to know what one looks like, and Hojlund does not look the part.
 
bosnian_red said:
While better, I'm still pretty convinced that Vlahović would be a big money flop in the prem just as he's been a big money flop at Juve
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I thought that he would do much better at Juve, but they are such a mess nowadays. Unlike Hojlund, I don't think Vlahovic would get bullied by anyone wherever he plays, and that helps in a ST especially in a team of relatively young age, and lack of characters.
 
Kopral Jono said:
Hojlund is a talent and is very low in confidence right now, but that summer (on top of making Sabitzer permanent) I wanted us to throw the kitchen sink on a proven, world-class number nine and England captain in Harry Kane instead of signing him, Mount and Onana. Well, well...
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But we so much lacked that GK with ball playing abilities that we went and splashed the difference on Onana while we let 2 GKs to leave for 5m euros. And people though that Onana would transform the way we play.
 
He has been in bad form, but it's always gonna be hard for the striker in this team, the players that should be our main creators like Bruno and Garnacho are instead our main shooters, and often from bad positions.

Hopefullt getting in proper wingbacks and a cm means we can focus more on passing to the striker instead of taking poor shots from far out.
 
AndySmith1990 said:
Even if we pretend he's not crap and it's only a matter of low confidence, how does that make it any better? We need players with strong characters and confidence in themselves at United. Either way he's not good enough
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So it’s his character as well? Can’t you find something on his appearance or demeanor too? Ffs.

Any player, especially strikers, can lose confidence. Hojlunds optimistic and honest character is a big part of the reason I had high hopes for him and still do. I’m sure he’ll turn it around, though maybe it won’t happen here which would be unfortunate for both him and us.
 
Rozay said:
Stats stats stats. Use your eyes. Fed up of this lazy, AI approach to football. We’re not stupid, everyone knows what a promising young footballer looks like. There was no campaign for Ronaldo to be sold in 2004 because he ‘only got 5 goals in 4738382 mins’. Rooney didn’t score his career best in his first couple of seasons. All we need is moments that demonstrate why a player is worth the wait, and Rooney and Ronaldo had plenty of those (many of which did not result in G/A. Just simply exhibitions of talent).

People would have far more patience, optimism, faith, hope or whatever with Hojlund if he simply looked like a good footballer. The false, lazy and simplistic narrative is that people have simply given up on him because he hasn’t scored 20 goals. The lazy and simplistic response to that would be to say ‘neither did Isak at 22’. The difference between Isak and Hojlund this season is a lot more than 15 league goals. It’s an enormous difference in ability to play football. Last night, Isak didn’t score a goal, yet won MOTM against one of the best teams in the country.

There’s a reason why every top club in the PL was chasing Tel in January, despite him not having scored 20 in a season. Not every young forward without impressive numbers is the same. Similarly, Hojlund scoring 17 goals last season was not the same as Martial scoring 17 goals in his first season. Hojlund doesn’t have top level ability, and frankly, would need to score an incredible amount of goals to justify his place at a club like this, because he obviously doesn’t have the ability of other supremely talented footballers to influence games at the highest level in other ways. There are zero statistics that formed the basis of excitement around Kobbie Mainoo when he broke through last summer, and zero statistics that would justify the price tag we would put on him on the market. Just watch the game and you will see the potential. McTominay recorded better numbers than Mainoo last season from midfield, yet it was obvious who the club would prefer to sell.

The players you listed had no business at s club like Manchester United at those ages, and they were not there. The only 20 year old strikers who should be signed for clubs like ours are those who have the obvious talent to be amongst the best strikers in the world, regardless of their numbers in the present. A club would spend 60m on a 17 year old with only one goal to his name if they thought he was special. This has very little to do with stats. We should not be signing 20 year old strikers with the talent of Hojlund. Not for 70m and not even for the 40m that everyone says is his true value. You simply don’t sign an undeveloped 20 year old striker unless he has world-class potential. Otherwise, you buy a young player who isn’t ready, in the hope that several hundred games later, he becomes what exactly? ‘Good?’ I would sign Martial at 19 10 times over for big money again. It made obvious sense. Hojlund was no young Martial.

Anyone attacking those for questioning Hojlund can only be defending him because he plays for Manchester United. There is no way that this same player would have the same excuses made for them at any other club.
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If you are talking about me, I would never "attack" anyone. But I may not have the same (negative or impatient) attitude towards the development of young players that you show. Højlund has already shown qualities for us - for example by scoring 7 goals in 6 games and thus being the youngest player in PL's history to do this.

You can also compare Højlund's development with Collyer's. They are about the same age, but one has only managed to get first-team games recently.

Shooting down young players is hopeless and all too easy. When ETH bought Højlund, he said that Højlund should be our no. 2 striker and was a player for the future. He had to learn from an experienced striker. But Højlund immediately ended up becoming our no. 1 striker, and he has thus never had the originally intended role.
 
Is he one of the worst strikers we've ever had? I swear Weghorst was better, and I hated the club and Ten Hag after the fiasco with him.

Also, Anthony was easily the better player for the club.
 
His best first touch was the moment he didn't take a touch and let the ball run down the left.

Better bit of movement for the first goal but that touch is unacceptably poor far too often.
 
Another poor game, but he did hold up the ball well for the first goal, and had a good try with the flick (which looked like it should have been a pen if Zirkzee hadn't scored)
 
He is young and can improve but honestly he's looked terrible for the last few months.
 
It’s a huge problem having such a bad centre forward, so many potential attacks break down and he offers very little.

He’s better than this and he can finish but he is so bad in some aspects that it is very difficult to see him being at the club next season.
 
It was his games for Denmark than United that showed his lack of ability.

Very low class opponents and he is usually seen ball watching and having no presence in the game throughout 90 mins.

The one moment he did, scoring a hattrick vs Finland, our club though he was the next top Scandinavian prospect with a similar name and build to Haaland so bought him in at any cost.

I like the lad but I find him very unfun and boring to watch.
 
He is not good enough. He has zero attributes to be an attacker in a club in the PL let alone in Manchester. He should never play a football match for the club again until we get rid in the summer.
 
It looks like he’s one of those players others actively don’t want to pass to because they know it’s a waste. Can’t see him lasting long here if Amorim gets his man.
 
He tried today and huffed and puffed, did a couple of good things but it’s his first touch and close control that is really letting him down.
 
Had a few decent moments, flick from Garnacho's cross blocked leading to easy goal for Zirkzee. At other times struggled to do the basics like control the ball.
 
He’d struggle in the Championship, maybe someone will pay 25m to take him but he’s next to useless for us. We shouldn’t keep him for 10 years like we did with Lingard or Martial, just get rid asap
 
Leg-End said:
It looks like he’s one of those players others actively don’t want to pass to because they know it’s a waste. Can’t see him lasting long here if Amorim gets his man.
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This is the thing. It's clear his teammates don't trust him and look to bypass him more often than try and use him. Unfortunately for him, his first touch and the amount of times he fails to control the ball or not have it ricochet off him to an opponent, only proves them right not to involve him where they can.
 
Think his game is based on physical advantages that just don't translate as good at this level. Looks like he gets swallowed up by the pace of the game
 
Gets zero service, and he won’t get better until we start putting out a team that actually has the weapons to hurt defences. Dorgu left, Amad right, Garnacho and Zirkzee behind, and maybe he starts to get some actual interplay and service.

The first half today wasn’t about individuals, it was about a tragic set up, with the wrong people in the wrong positions. As soon as we started to put players in the right positions, we started to look much much better.
 
Amar__ said:
Is he one of the worst strikers we've ever had? I swear Weghorst was better, and I hated the club and Ten Hag after the fiasco with him.

Also, Anthony was easily the better player for the club.
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Definitely the worst regular striker we've had in the PL era.
 
His first touch is horrendous. He adds nothing to the build up play, think he can only play on the shoulder off the last defender onto through balls, and even then he seems to be lacking in strength to shrug off the defender. I can't see his flaws being improved too much that'll see him being our striker in the future.
 
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