Man Utd: Alan Shearer reveals his assessment of ‘damaged’ Red Devils star in ‘crisis of confidence’
BBC pundit Alan Shearer has delivered an honest assessment of Manchester United forward Rasmus Hojlund after he failed to score against Wolves on Sunday.
The Red Devils invested around £64m plus add-ons to sign Hojlund from Serie A side Atalanta during the 2023 summer transfer window.
United’s limited options in attack forced Erik ten Hag to overly rely on Hojlund during his debut season, but he settled in nicely with 16 goals in all competitions.
However, Hojlund’s performances have massively declined this term as he’s lost all of his confidence and has been heavily criticised.
The Denmark international has only scored one Premier League goal this year and forms one of the worst attacks in the English top-flight.
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After Hojlund failed to get on the scoresheet in Man Utd’s 1-0 loss to Wolves on Sunday, Shearer said the forward is a “damaged player”.
“I am looking at a damaged player in Hojlund. He wasn’t ready and isn’t ready to lead the attack at a club like Man Utd,” Shearer said on Match of the Day 2.
“I am seeing a guy who doesn’t want to get in there. There is no doubt a crisis in confidence. He has been put into a really difficult situation.
“He is not at the stage of his career to lead the line. I’m not saying there is not a good player there, I think there is, but with the pressure there is, he is not ready to lead the line yet.”
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Former Premier League forward Glenn Murray agrees with Shearer as Hojlund is “devoid of any confidence”.
“I really feel for Rasmus Hojlund because I do believe there is a good footballer in there, but he is absolutely devoid of any confidence,” Murray said.
“It must be hard when you come to a club like Manchester United to remain positive when there is so much negativity around, especially as a forward.
“That formation is not set-up to make chances for Hojlund. There’s a winger in Alejandro Garnacho that just wants to cut in and shoot, so he doesn’t create chances for others, and then on the other side is Kobbie Mainoo who doesn’t really get those balls in either.
“So I do feel for him. He’s a young lad and he’s a bit lost at the moment.”
