Rasmus Højlund | Signed for United

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MrWilliams said:
I think it’s fair to have some reasonable expectation for him to bang in goals at a decent clip especially if we assume our supply line of Bruno, Mount, Rashford, Antony will create ample chances for him.

He has to want to raise his game and succeed here.
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Scoring in the PL is not that easy mate. People say just get into the right position but to do that you'd need experience, strength, acceleration and a nice touch. Then the keepers in the PL are very good. So you'd also need to have a powerful and precise shot. Then the huge pressure so you'd need composure as well. The lad seems to have some decent strength, acceleration and a good shot but there's still a big question regarding the experience, touch and composure. He's still very young and raw imo.

Of course a reasonable expectation is fair here. But 20 goals is simply not reasonable imo. That's what you'd expect from the likes of Kane. Not a 20 yo lad in his first season here I think.
 
bosnian_red said:
What's there to be baffled at? He's an elite CF prospect. Top CF prospects are very rare. Bayern are signing a 30 year old after they went a year without a striker because their mid 30s striker left to go to Barca. Madrid lost their mid 30s striker and are using a striker less formation now, waiting to sign Mbappe who is a wide forward anyway. City have Haaland who along with Osimhen are literally the only under 30 year old strikers who are ready for top teams. Before getting Haaland, City went a year without a striker too. Liverpool don't really have a striker, just a bunch of wide forwards. Arsenal have Jesus who is a CF and works hard but doesn't score much.

The CF market is shit is what it is. Football stopped developing strikers so when you get the chance to sign a top prospect, you simply pay up if you want him.

You have Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski, Osimhen, Benzema who are the top level strikers currently. 3 of them are 30+, 1 is at City and the other is getting quoted at 150m+, and was bought by Napoli before he did much for 70m anyway.

You have a bunch of wide forwards who teams try to adapt to make do at CF, to varying degrees, like Jota/Gakpo, Isak, Kolo Muani, even Mbappe, who aren't proper #9's and don't really do that hold up play and being a focal point (or to varying levels).

You have mid tier players like Lautaro, Vlahović, Toney, Ramos, Watkins, Mitrovic who are being quoted absurd fees without having top level potential, so you would pay elite level prices for Europa League production out of them as their ceiling.

Then you have a few youngsters with big potential, like Hojlund and Sesko. And of them, Hojlund is the one of the very few on this entire list who is a proper #9 with all the tools to be a top center forward. Think of it like paying to get a CF in the mold of Dzeko, Lewandowski, Ibra, Kane, Drogba, Cavani, etc at the age of 20. None of these guys did anything at that age, most broke out at 22/23 (Kane at 21). The second these guys break through, they are over 100m and pretty much unobtainable if you didn't get them beforehand (unless you are Haaland who puts a clause in). It's securing a rare profile, elite talent that we happen to be in dire need of as well, and a player who may not be all that far away from stepping up either.

As for who starts... Martial doesn't have the pace or strength or movement in the box that Hojlund has, despite the age. Yeah Martial will get his gametime when fit which is good. Hojlund is barely 20. By the time Martials contract is out, Hojlund might just be ready to be the full time guy. He gives us that threat in behind that only Rashford offers in our squad, he gives us proper #9 movement in the box, he gives us a focal point.
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For people whining about Hojlund read this you cretins!
 
Strelok said:
Scoring in the PL is not that easy mate. People say just get into the right position but to do that you'd need experience, strength, acceleration and a nice touch. Then the keepers in the PL are very good. So you'd also need to have a powerful and precise shot. Then the huge pressure so you'd need composure as well. The lad seems to have some decent strength, acceleration and a good shot but there's still a big question regarding the experience, touch and composure. He's still very young and raw imo.

Of course a reasonable expectation is fair here. But 20 goals is simply not reasonable imo. That's what you'd expect from the likes of Kane. Not a 20 yo lad in his first season here I think.
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The issue with a lot of fans is that they can't differentiate between desire/hope and reality.
 
bosnian_red said:
What's there to be baffled at? He's an elite CF prospect. Top CF prospects are very rare. Bayern are signing a 30 year old after they went a year without a striker because their mid 30s striker left to go to Barca. Madrid lost their mid 30s striker and are using a striker less formation now, waiting to sign Mbappe who is a wide forward anyway. City have Haaland who along with Osimhen are literally the only under 30 year old strikers who are ready for top teams. Before getting Haaland, City went a year without a striker too. Liverpool don't really have a striker, just a bunch of wide forwards. Arsenal have Jesus who is a CF and works hard but doesn't score much.

The CF market is shit is what it is. Football stopped developing strikers so when you get the chance to sign a top prospect, you simply pay up if you want him.

You have Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski, Osimhen, Benzema who are the top level strikers currently. 3 of them are 30+, 1 is at City and the other is getting quoted at 150m+, and was bought by Napoli before he did much for 70m anyway.

You have a bunch of wide forwards who teams try to adapt to make do at CF, to varying degrees, like Jota/Gakpo, Isak, Kolo Muani, even Mbappe, who aren't proper #9's and don't really do that hold up play and being a focal point (or to varying levels).

You have mid tier players like Lautaro, Vlahović, Toney, Ramos, Watkins, Mitrovic who are being quoted absurd fees without having top level potential, so you would pay elite level prices for Europa League production out of them as their ceiling.

Then you have a few youngsters with big potential, like Hojlund and Sesko. And of them, Hojlund is the one of the very few on this entire list who is a proper #9 with all the tools to be a top center forward. Think of it like paying to get a CF in the mold of Dzeko, Lewandowski, Ibra, Kane, Drogba, Cavani, etc at the age of 20. None of these guys did anything at that age, most broke out at 22/23 (Kane at 21). The second these guys break through, they are over 100m and pretty much unobtainable if you didn't get them beforehand (unless you are Haaland who puts a clause in). It's securing a rare profile, elite talent that we happen to be in dire need of as well, and a player who may not be all that far away from stepping up either.

As for who starts... Martial doesn't have the pace or strength or movement in the box that Hojlund has, despite the age. Yeah Martial will get his gametime when fit which is good. Hojlund is barely 20. By the time Martials contract is out, Hojlund might just be ready to be the full time guy. He gives us that threat in behind that only Rashford offers in our squad, he gives us proper #9 movement in the box, he gives us a focal point.
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Odlično si napisao. Well written! I’d just add Ramos to that list who is also a very good prospect. With Hojlund we have a gem who will be polished by ETH and become a goal machinery.
 
bosnian_red said:
What's there to be baffled at? He's an elite CF prospect. Top CF prospects are very rare. Bayern are signing a 30 year old after they went a year without a striker because their mid 30s striker left to go to Barca. Madrid lost their mid 30s striker and are using a striker less formation now, waiting to sign Mbappe who is a wide forward anyway. City have Haaland who along with Osimhen are literally the only under 30 year old strikers who are ready for top teams. Before getting Haaland, City went a year without a striker too. Liverpool don't really have a striker, just a bunch of wide forwards. Arsenal have Jesus who is a CF and works hard but doesn't score much.

The CF market is shit is what it is. Football stopped developing strikers so when you get the chance to sign a top prospect, you simply pay up if you want him.

You have Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski, Osimhen, Benzema who are the top level strikers currently. 3 of them are 30+, 1 is at City and the other is getting quoted at 150m+, and was bought by Napoli before he did much for 70m anyway.

You have a bunch of wide forwards who teams try to adapt to make do at CF, to varying degrees, like Jota/Gakpo, Isak, Kolo Muani, even Mbappe, who aren't proper #9's and don't really do that hold up play and being a focal point (or to varying levels).

You have mid tier players like Lautaro, Vlahović, Toney, Ramos, Watkins, Mitrovic who are being quoted absurd fees without having top level potential, so you would pay elite level prices for Europa League production out of them as their ceiling.

Then you have a few youngsters with big potential, like Hojlund and Sesko. And of them, Hojlund is the one of the very few on this entire list who is a proper #9 with all the tools to be a top center forward. Think of it like paying to get a CF in the mold of Dzeko, Lewandowski, Ibra, Kane, Drogba, Cavani, etc at the age of 20. None of these guys did anything at that age, most broke out at 22/23 (Kane at 21). The second these guys break through, they are over 100m and pretty much unobtainable if you didn't get them beforehand (unless you are Haaland who puts a clause in). It's securing a rare profile, elite talent that we happen to be in dire need of as well, and a player who may not be all that far away from stepping up either.

As for who starts... Martial doesn't have the pace or strength or movement in the box that Hojlund has, despite the age. Yeah Martial will get his game time when fit which is good. Hojlund is barely 20. By the time Martials contract is out, Hojlund might just be ready to be the full time guy. He gives us that threat in behind that only Rashford offers in our squad, he gives us proper #9 movement in the box, he gives us a focal point.
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Very true and a great post summarising the current market situation for good strikers.

Actually after taking a look at all top clubs of the top 5 leagues, I realised that there is a severe lack of good center forwards in the game right now. You have covered Madrid, City, Liverpool and Arsenal so I will skip them.
  • Barcelona is currently playing a 34 year old Lewandowski whom they signed for a lot of money for a player of that age after a lot of controversy and burnt bridges. His backup is Ferran Torres who was signed for €65m and is nowhere near good enough.
  • Atletico is playing 32 year old Griezmann with 30 year old Morata as his backup, and they were struggling with their strikers before Griezmann returned.
  • Sociedad had Sorloth (very mediocre...) as their starting center forward.
  • Juventus has Vlahovic which they are struggling to get rid of this window rotating minutes with Milik (very mediocre...).
  • Inter has Lautaro and I am sure Inter will quote an absurd price for him. They also have Lukaku on loan and Dzeko as backup.
  • Milan has 36 year old Giroud as their starting center forward.
  • Lazio has 33 year old Immobile as their starting center forward.
  • Roma has Tammy as their starting center forward whom they signed for big money and has a buyback clause from Chelsea. He is too inconsistent with his finishing anyway.
  • Bayern signed 31 year old Mane to be their center forward and he flopped massively. Their most reliable center forward last season was actually the 34 year old Choupo-Moting.
  • Dortmund have Haller who missed the first half of the season with 18 year old Moukoko standing in. No one in the club scored more than 9 goals.
  • Leipzig has Timo Werner as their starting center forward with Sesko joining this season. We were quoted ridiculous price for Sesko last season.
  • PSG has Mbappe who needs no introduction and Ekitike who scored 3 goals for a super dominant PSG in Ligue 1.
  • Lyon has 32 year old Lacazette as their starting center forward.
  • Marseilla has 34 year old Alexis Sanchez (PTSD) as their starting center forward.
  • Chelsea strikers are cursed anyway. It was Havertz last season with Lukaku on loan.
  • Tottenham have Kane who should be our perfect target but unfortunately Levy is a cnut.
So yeah, Hojlund's fee is very high but unfortunately that's just how the market is. Supply and demand.
 
I've just found out what's his middle name is. Rasmus Winter Hojlund is coming.
 
Blood Mage said:
Still a bit baffled by this signing and can't say I'm all that excited about it. If Martial gets fit again he starts over this kid.
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I'm baffled that you are baffled. As so many others have pointed out, how the absolute feck can you be baffled with us signing an elite striker talent? What you say make absolutely no sense and it genuinely seems you're just deliberately trying to post shit for the sake of it.
 
dasty said:
Very true and a great post summarising the current market situation for good strikers.

Actually after taking a look at all top clubs of the top 5 leagues, I realised that there is a severe lack of good center forwards in the game right now. You have covered Madrid, City, Liverpool and Arsenal so I will skip them.
  • Barcelona is currently playing a 34 year old Lewandowski whom they signed for a lot of money for a player of that age after a lot of controversy and burnt bridges. His backup is Ferran Torres who was signed for €65m and is nowhere near good enough.
  • Atletico is playing 32 year old Griezmann with 30 year old Morata as his backup, and they were struggling with their strikers before Griezmann returned.
  • Sociedad had Sorloth (very mediocre...) as their starting center forward.
  • Juventus has Vlahovic which they are struggling to get rid of this window rotating minutes with Milik (very mediocre...).
  • Inter has Lautaro and I am sure Inter will quote an absurd price for him. They also have Lukaku on loan and Dzeko as backup.
  • Milan has 36 year old Giroud as their starting center forward.
  • Lazio has 33 year old Immobile as their starting center forward.
  • Roma has Tammy as their starting center forward whom they signed for big money and has a buyback clause from Chelsea. He is too inconsistent with his finishing anyway.
  • Bayern signed 31 year old Mane to be their center forward and he flopped massively. Their most reliable center forward last season was actually the 34 year old Choupo-Moting.
  • Dortmund have Haller who missed the first half of the season with 18 year old Moukoko standing in. No one in the club scored more than 9 goals.
  • Leipzig has Timo Werner as their starting center forward with Sesko joining this season. We were quoted ridiculous price for Sesko last season.
  • PSG has Mbappe who needs no introduction and Ekitike who scored 3 goals for a super dominant PSG in Ligue 1.
  • Lyon has 32 year old Lacazette as their starting center forward.
  • Marseilla has 34 year old Alexis Sanchez (PTSD) as their starting center forward.
  • Chelsea strikers are cursed anyway. It was Havertz last season with Lukaku on loan.
  • Tottenham have Kane who should be our perfect target but unfortunately Levy is a cnut.
So yeah, Hojlund's fee is very high but unfortunately that's just how the market is. Supply and demand.
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Well done.

Your post only shows that moaners don't particularly have critical thinking as a part of their genetic makeup. They only 'think' with one side of their brain.
 
Honestly all these scouting reports from the resident armchair experts are cringey as feck. Pretending to know his ceiling/championship player/etc. Choosing to focus on stats and youtube reels, and ignoring all the intangibles. What even is the point of downplaying a new signing anyway? To score points on an internet forum? He's 20 years old ffs let him kick a ball in the prem first.
 
Imo it's still a bit too early to say he'd start games immediately or not. Casemiro is world class yet he didn't start immediately after coming here.

The thing is I don't think ETH would decide who'd start based on the price tag or reputation. And all the scouting job until this very moment is still basically guesswork. Nobody would be sure about how he'd do in the PL. So imo once we buy him ETH would have a look at how he does in training, how he'd fare against our own defenders in training etc. then he'd make the decision. If the lad does well enough for ETH he'll start else he'll have to wait I think.
 
Feel sad for those that aren't excited, I can imagine being skeptical that this lad might not hit the highest of heights, he's far from a sure thing, but not being excited? It's such an exciting signing! A young striker after years and years of shopping in the retirement home. It's exactly the sort of signing we've been missing.

Some would rather pretend Martial isn't beyond a busted flush instead I guess.
 
We’re signing a striker. Can’t be a bad thing. People would be moaning if we didn’t sign him. We were never getting Kane. Means Rashford can play in his favoured position and we have someone to play up top and alternate with Martial (if he’s ever fit)
 
bosnian_red said:
What's there to be baffled at? He's an elite CF prospect. Top CF prospects are very rare. Bayern are signing a 30 year old after they went a year without a striker because their mid 30s striker left to go to Barca. Madrid lost their mid 30s striker and are using a striker less formation now, waiting to sign Mbappe who is a wide forward anyway. City have Haaland who along with Osimhen are literally the only under 30 year old strikers who are ready for top teams. Before getting Haaland, City went a year without a striker too. Liverpool don't really have a striker, just a bunch of wide forwards. Arsenal have Jesus who is a CF and works hard but doesn't score much.

The CF market is shit is what it is. Football stopped developing strikers so when you get the chance to sign a top prospect, you simply pay up if you want him.

You have Haaland, Kane, Lewandowski, Osimhen, Benzema who are the top level strikers currently. 3 of them are 30+, 1 is at City and the other is getting quoted at 150m+, and was bought by Napoli before he did much for 70m anyway.

You have a bunch of wide forwards who teams try to adapt to make do at CF, to varying degrees, like Jota/Gakpo, Isak, Kolo Muani, even Mbappe, who aren't proper #9's and don't really do that hold up play and being a focal point (or to varying levels).

You have mid tier players like Lautaro, Vlahović, Toney, Ramos, Watkins, Mitrovic who are being quoted absurd fees without having top level potential, so you would pay elite level prices for Europa League production out of them as their ceiling.

Then you have a few youngsters with big potential, like Hojlund and Sesko. And of them, Hojlund is the one of the very few on this entire list who is a proper #9 with all the tools to be a top center forward. Think of it like paying to get a CF in the mold of Dzeko, Lewandowski, Ibra, Kane, Drogba, Cavani, etc at the age of 20. None of these guys did anything at that age, most broke out at 22/23 (Kane at 21). The second these guys break through, they are over 100m and pretty much unobtainable if you didn't get them beforehand (unless you are Haaland who puts a clause in). It's securing a rare profile, elite talent that we happen to be in dire need of as well, and a player who may not be all that far away from stepping up either.

As for who starts... Martial doesn't have the pace or strength or movement in the box that Hojlund has, despite the age. Yeah Martial will get his gametime when fit which is good. Hojlund is barely 20. By the time Martials contract is out, Hojlund might just be ready to be the full time guy. He gives us that threat in behind that only Rashford offers in our squad, he gives us proper #9 movement in the box, he gives us a focal point.
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Great post.
 
sglowrider said:
A QPR fan's perspective. Interesting projected playing setups available with a bedded-in Hojlund -- basically, 'pick your poison' scenarios for the opposition:

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That video aligns exactly with my impression of Hojlund. Should be really great for the team. Not a 30-goal a season guy but he’ll make the team score more and operate better all round.
 
OrcaFat said:
That video aligns exactly with my impression of Hojlund. Should be really great for the team. Not a 30-goal a season guy but he’ll make the team score more and operate better all round.
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I think you are right. ETH wants dynamic attack that's less predictable. We can play possession ball or we can gergenpress or play long ball.
Pick your poison.

The players he is assembling seem to have tactical flexibility. Some will need to grow. That's why I dont think he will rid Sancho for example... He can play multiple roles... Just need to do them better.

Or hojlund -- judge on the pre-assist or the space he creates for others -- at least early in his career at United.
 
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Santoryo said:
You laugh at that but the poster is right. ETH would almost certainly play Martial if fit and he's still a better player than the kid.

But that's a moot point since Martial will probably remain injury prone throughout this season as well.
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A fit and confident Martial, sure, but the Martial towards the end of last season? No way - he seems to have lost confidence in his body to hold up (understandably), and so doesn't sprint, press, or tackle with intensity. That's a shame as I was a big fan
 
shabadu84 said:
9-12 league goals is a reasonable expectation assuming he plays 20-25 games, and 15-18 overall
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In line with what a top level 18-20 year old will score in their debut season, too. Martial for instance got 11 in his first PL season here.
 
DWelbz19 said:
In line with what a top level 18-20 year old will score in their debut season, too. Martial for instance got 11 in his first PL season here.
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If my memory serves me right Martial did perform way above his initial expectation back then. The hype after that season was crazy.
 
Strelok said:
If my memory serves me right Martial did perform way above his initial expectation back then. The hype after that season was crazy.
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That goal against the dippers, and Tyler's subsequent orgasm, sent expectations rocketing.
 
Strelok said:
If my memory serves me right Martial did perform way above his initial expectation back then. The hype after that season was crazy.
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To a degree, yeah. But the overarching point still stands -- the very top level attacking talents in that level should be looking at around lower double digit figures. Copying my post earlier on a few players in comparison:
DWelbz19 said:
Going off of previous tallies of top level young forwards in the PL, we should be looking at around 10-15 league goals from Hojlund.

In their first major seasons:
Owen (18); Lukaku (17); Fowler (12); Martial (11); Greenwood (10); Alli (10)…
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Have a feeling he’ll surprise a lot of people. He’s bagging +15.

let’s go!!
 
Won't believe it until he's holding up our shirt :wenger:
 
dasty said:
Very true and a great post summarising the current market situation for good strikers.

Actually after taking a look at all top clubs of the top 5 leagues, I realised that there is a severe lack of good center forwards in the game right now. You have covered Madrid, City, Liverpool and Arsenal so I will skip them.
  • Barcelona is currently playing a 34 year old Lewandowski whom they signed for a lot of money for a player of that age after a lot of controversy and burnt bridges. His backup is Ferran Torres who was signed for €65m and is nowhere near good enough.
  • Atletico is playing 32 year old Griezmann with 30 year old Morata as his backup, and they were struggling with their strikers before Griezmann returned.
  • Sociedad had Sorloth (very mediocre...) as their starting center forward.
  • Juventus has Vlahovic which they are struggling to get rid of this window rotating minutes with Milik (very mediocre...).
  • Inter has Lautaro and I am sure Inter will quote an absurd price for him. They also have Lukaku on loan and Dzeko as backup.
  • Milan has 36 year old Giroud as their starting center forward.
  • Lazio has 33 year old Immobile as their starting center forward.
  • Roma has Tammy as their starting center forward whom they signed for big money and has a buyback clause from Chelsea. He is too inconsistent with his finishing anyway.
  • Bayern signed 31 year old Mane to be their center forward and he flopped massively. Their most reliable center forward last season was actually the 34 year old Choupo-Moting.
  • Dortmund have Haller who missed the first half of the season with 18 year old Moukoko standing in. No one in the club scored more than 9 goals.
  • Leipzig has Timo Werner as their starting center forward with Sesko joining this season. We were quoted ridiculous price for Sesko last season.
  • PSG has Mbappe who needs no introduction and Ekitike who scored 3 goals for a super dominant PSG in Ligue 1.
  • Lyon has 32 year old Lacazette as their starting center forward.
  • Marseilla has 34 year old Alexis Sanchez (PTSD) as their starting center forward.
  • Chelsea strikers are cursed anyway. It was Havertz last season with Lukaku on loan.
  • Tottenham have Kane who should be our perfect target but unfortunately Levy is a cnut.
So yeah, Hojlund's fee is very high but unfortunately that's just how the market is. Supply and demand.
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You forgot Brighton have Ferguson, Pedro, Undav and Welbeck! I'm quite happy with those options.
 


Red Royal said:
Hopefully can get integrated in the team quickly and play a role in the last friendlies.
I reckon he will be a sub vs. Wolves and then EtH will slowly use him more and more.
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Only me think that this deal will get dragged out because of the visa approval procedure ?

I have a feeling that he's going to be introduced in game day in OT on Saturday against Lens as we did with Rapha and Casimiro
 
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