Rasmus Hojlund: Are Man Utd’s immediate needs compatible with those of ‘next Haaland’?

Rasmus Hojlund is raw, inexperienced and hasn’t scored double figures in any senior competition. Man Utd should sign him – but not just him.

At the top of Manchester United’s shopping list this summer must have been a goalscorer. If it wasn’t, it really ought to have been. In big, bold capitals, circled, starred and highlighted.

Erik ten Hag made do without one throughout his first season in charge at Old Trafford. For most of the first half of the campaign, Cristiano Ronaldo skulked and sulked while implementing his exit strategy, and for the second half, Wout Weghorst tried. God bless him, he tried. And he did some good things but pitifully few involved ball meeting net.

Of course, Anthony Martial was there too. As he has been for the bulk of seven years now, during which time his bursts have become shorter and more infrequent. The Frenchman will probably still be there at the start of next season too, but only because no club with all their sh*t together would pay him or United what it might take for either to consider parting. Martial cannot be part of the conversation when it comes to rebuilding United’s forward line.

There is a centre-forward who would be perfect for United. Harry Edward Kane. Tottenham’s record goalscorer has arrived at a career crossroads and could be looking to leave his boyhood club. Kane is exactly what Ten Hag needs. If only those above the manager in the United hierarchy weren’t so utterly terrified of dealing with Daniel Levy.

So the Red Devils have deemed it necessary to consider alternatives to England’s greatest-ever goalscorer, and they think they’ve found one in a rookie striker yet to score double figures in any competition beyond the Danish Under-19 Boys League.

That is not to denigrate Rasmus Hojlund. The 20-year-old is viewed by many as potentially a great striker and he has showed enough in less than a year at Atalanta to make the big boys sit up and take note.

Hojlund moved to Bergamo last August for around £15million having scored 12 goals in 21 games while being flipped by Sturm Graz for 10 times what they paid Copenhagen earlier that same year. One season, 32 Serie A appearances, 20 starts and nine goals later, Atalanta are looking to do similar, with a profit of at least £35million in the pipeline.

Why? Well, many talk about Hojlund as being the next Erling Haaland. There are similarities. They’re both Scandinavian, blonde, left-footed, imposing presences and fast as f***. Both like to play as traditional centre-forwards, prowling the width of the penalty area, rather than pulling wide to create space. Leave that for others. Hojlund, like Haaland, is more concerned with getting into the box.

Which is what United need. And Hojlund’s work-rate is also appealing to Ten Ha-g. Pressing from the front might not be for Ronaldo or Martial, but Hojlund isn’t afraid to pull his weight defensively.

Hojlund is a very attractive package. He might develop into the complete package. But he’s not there yet. Which could leave United vulnerable. Especially if Hojlund is the only centre-forward they sign this summer.

Ideally, Ten Hag would bag up Hojlund and a more experienced, battle-hardened, proven No.9. Even if Kane signed, or Victor Osimhen, either would still need cover. Just because Ten Hag has gone so far without a proper centre-forward doesn’t mean that just one will adequately fill the void in his attacking ranks if United want to compete on multiple fronts.

But United’s financial restrictions, whether self-imposed or necessary because of FFP, mean almost certainly that one will have to do. Is Hojlund, so young and inexperienced, ready to carry the massive weight of expectation of leading United’s line and scoring 20 a season?

Now, possibly. One day soon, probably. But the Red Devils, and everyone else, should consider the steepness and speed of his ascent so far, and the gap between what he has achieved to this point and what he would be expected to produce immediately upon becoming a £50million star striker for Manchester United.

Pep Guardiola had a similar hole in his squad a year ago. He signed Haaland – and Julian Alvarez. United, scarred from missing Haaland first and second time around, should follow City’s lead and double up this summer to give Hojlund the best chance of being the hit-man they hope him to be.

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