Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has likened Rasmus Hojlund to Blackburn and Newcastle legend Alan Shearer.
Hojlund has yet to score in the league for the Red Devils and, while Scholes believes the player has the capability to emulate one of England’s greatest goalscorers, he doesn’t think Erik ten Hag’s team are currently playing to his strengths:
“It takes a lot to fill that shirt, but he’s a very young player. He’s not got a great goalscoring record as of yet, but he’s getting into great positions. He needs to find out what kind of centre-forward he is: is he more of a Ruud Van Nistelrooy or an Alan Shearer-type player? For me, he’s more of a Shearer, where he’s going to want balls crossed into him.”
“The only problem with that is United don’t really have wide players that cross the ball – [Marcus] Rashford doesn’t, Antony tries to cut inside and shoot every single time, but [Sergio] Reguilon can cross a ball. Luke Shaw is to come back as well.”
Can United get the most out of Hojlund?
There is no doubt that the Danish international possesses the characteristics to be a success in the Premier League. He has the physicality, the finishing ability and the technical skills but, at the moment, he is finding it hard to make an impact on the game.
In his 6 league appearances for United so far, he has racked up just 1.4 xG. While that means that he should have scored (at least) 1 goal by now, he is not underperforming by a lot, suggesting he just isn’t getting enough chances.
Hojlund is hoping to get service from a United teammate
While Scholes is dismissive of Marcus Rashford’s ability to provide the ammunition for Hojlund to score, the Dane is more confident that the pair can build a connection. Speaking after the 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen midweek, the £72m summer signing said:
“Yeah, you can see we are trying to find each other. In the Sheffield [United] game, he nearly got an assist to me, and I think he has already assisted me twice in the Champions League. We are definitely trying to find each other on the pitch and I also tried to find him with a deep pass today, so we have a good connection.”
United fans will certainly be hoping that the pair can strike up an understanding, which may help both players start scoring more often.
