Rooney accuses Man Utd team-mates of giving Red Devils flop ‘no help’ in staunch defence

Man Utd legend Wayne Rooney has leapt to the defence of Rasmus Hojlund despite the striker’s underwhelming season for the Red Devils.

The Red Devils are having a nightmare season in the Premier League with Ruben Amorim’s side currently 14th in the table after 27 matches.

Man Utd now have one competition left as they look to secure silverware this season after they exited the FA Cup on penalties to fellow Premier League side Fulham.

Performances and results have got worse since Amorim replaced Erik ten Hag in November and now their only hope of a trophy comes in the Europa League.

Man Utd have struggled to score goals in the Premier League this season with only five clubs scoring fewer than the Red Devils.

Hojlund – who signed from Atalanta for £72m in the summer of 2023 – has scored just two Premier League goals in 22 appearances for Man Utd this term, while Joshua Zirkzee has only scored three.

Both players have come in for criticism but Hojlund is now on a run of 18 matches without scoring in all competitions with mid-December the last time he hit the back of the net.

However, Man Utd legend Rooney feels sorry for the Denmark international and claims Hojlund is “getting no help” from his Red Devils team-mates.

MORE MAN UTD COVERAGE ON F365…
👉 ‘Naive’ Ruben Amorim somehow resists Rooney manager dig: ‘Really easy’ to be pundit
👉 Lineker makes Klopp comparison as he fingers Ferguson for start of Man Utd decline
👉 ‘Real handful’ – Shearer heaps praise on one Man Utd star despite FA Cup exit vs Fulham

Rooney said: “With myself, I had good senior players around me. Sometimes I made mistakes and had a bad game but I had good players around me. Hojlund is getting no help.

“I think United play too slow, the ball speed is too slow, and for the centre-forwards they are just waiting around.

“Hojlund’s movement here is really good and he’s unlucky with this one. He has tried and is making runs in behind but United aren’t getting close to help.

“He’s trying to hold the ball and use his body, he is a little isolated. He needs someone he can lay the ball off too and he can then get back in the box.

“Not just Hojlund but Joshua Zirkzee has given up the ball too many times.

“There is not enough creativity and they are not holding up the ball for the midfielders and defenders to support them, it’s a bit of both.”

There were rumours last month that Man Utd now ‘fear’ that they will be ‘forced to keep’ Hojlund in the summer as they will struggle to find a buyer.

Chido Obi made an impact after coming off the bench to replace Hojlund on 68 minutes against Fulham – who eventually triumphed on penalties – and Rooney was impressed.

Rooney added on Obi: “What I’ve really liked about him is that he’s put himself in some really good positions.

“I’ve been really impressed by him. He looked like the one who could go on and nick it.”