- Hojlund has failed to score in his last 19 appearances Man United – but Ruben Amorim will have a major problem if he is looking for an attack in attack
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Manchester United paid too early for Rasmus Hojlund. He is a voluntary worker, but no scorer and, for 72 million pounds sterling, you want objectives for your investment!
Is it good enough to one day be the main center of United in a team that defies for large trophies? After 19 games without scoring, the evidence suggests that it is not.
I have sympathy for the Danish. He is a young boy thrown into a team in difficulty in the face of enormous pressure, but I must be honest and say that I do not think he is their response to the future. More importantly, I don’t think that manager Ruben Amorim believes in him either in the long term.
The identification of the problem does not necessarily help to solve it, and Amorim has a major problem.
Even if he needs an upgrade on Hojlund, any world class striker available this summer will most likely have other options and will choose to go elsewhere.
Rasmus Hojlund cost Man United 72 million pounds sterling but he has since had trouble being up to his price
After blocked during the draw on Thursday in Real Sociedad, Hojlund had 19 goalless games
He scored 23 goals in his first 79 united games, including 12 in 52 Premier League games
It is a shock for a club of size and history of United. They have always been used to buying the best. They would select by hand a Wayne Rooney or Robin Van Persie, and would go and get them.
However, the landscape is very different now. If Alexander Isak of Newcastle is the best of the class, Sunday visitors to Old Trafford, Arsenal – who would also like a 9 – are in a much better place than United to attract the Swedish star to their club.
At one point, United would be 90% likely to sign a better player if they were chasing it. Now there is a 90% chance that Isak would refuse them.
Jonathan David of Lille, who marked against Real Madrid and Liverpool in the Champions League of this season, is another very well rated striker. But it is without contract this summer and will have more attractive suitors than United.
Given a direct choice, Joao Pedro de Brighton, for example, would prefer Anfield to Old Trafford. How the powerful fell.
Since he must do something in advance without having an enormous quantity to spend, Amorim could end up using his personal history to sign Viktor Gyoking of Sporting Lisbon or make a relatively cheap movement for the Mateta Jean-Philippe de Crystal Palace.
Both are decent attackers, but not the types that the United States has examined in the past or even more recent – when Romelu Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic went to Old Trafford.
Today’s A-Loors want regular football in the Champions League, competition wages and a stability club. It was hardly united, which gave Erik Ten Hag a new contract after winning the FA Cup, then dismissed it and usually lacked consistency under ineos.
Alexander Isak would be an ideal signature for United, but he probably has many best offers
Amorim could find Viktor Gyokerres but it is not someone that United would sign in the past
He leaves Amorim in the difficult situation to have to sell to buy. As is often the case, the players he has with decent market values - Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho – are those he would ideally like.
In the meantime, the end of Stretford will be placed in Hojlund to break his sterile sequence against Arsenal this weekend.
