Rasmus Hojlund acknowledges that upon arriving to Manchester United’s Old Trafford facility, he first experienced “problems” collaborating with the team’s other forwards. The Danish goal-scoring monster cost £72 million to join the Red Devils from Atalanta this summer. His performances have been remarkable, even though he hasn’t quite found his scoring feet just yet.
During United’s most recent match against FC Copenhagen, he was a spectator for the first half as his colleagues struggled to find him in space, but once he was eventually given the opportunity to get free, he led the Red Devils’ assaults. Hojlund excels in positioning, hold-up play, and probably most crucially, top-tier interlinking passes, in addition to his goal-scoring abilities.
The 21-year-old, who has lined up next to fellow forwards Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Antony, and Alejandro Garnacho this season, acknowledges that it has taken him some time to get used to playing with them.
We started off with a few issues here. But now that everyone is back, including Antony, I believe we are beginning to weave the play together, he said in an interview with The United Stand.
“Like you mentioned, I have to score goals, but I also have to demonstrate my strength and assist the other players on the field. One of the most important aspects of our play is to maintain the play and launch attacks from it.
Hojlund has scored three goals in as many games in Europe this season, but he has struggled to find the net in the Premier League. Since leaving Atalanta, his chances to score have decreased. He averaged 2.65 shots per 90 minutes in Italy last season, compared to 2.36 thus far for United.
His chances generated have decreased from 1.18 to 0.86, and his attempted passes per ninety minutes have likewise decreased from 20.82 to 15.86. The steep learning curve of joining a new club and league is predicted to cause a reduction in the aforementioned figures, but there are also numerous encouraging indicators in the statistics.
Hojlund’s attempted pass numbers have decreased, but his pass success rate has increased from 74.3 to 78.4 percent, while his attempted dribble numbers have decreased from 2.9 to 1.93 per 90 minutes, but their success ratios have steadily increased from 49.15 to 55.56 percent. Hojlund is currently more successful in transition for United than he was at Atalanta, even if he participates less in build-up play.