Sky Sports pundit Roy Keane’s pre-match comments on Rasmus Hojlund aged very poorly after he called out the Manchester United striker’s goalscoring output.
Hojlund came under significant criticism this season after he failed to score in his first 13 Premier League matches for United following his move from Atalanta.
The 20-year-old United striker managed to break his goalscoring drought in the league before the end of 2023 in the 3-2 comeback win against Aston Villa.
Hojlund was absent for the opening part of United’s season due to an injury he picked up in pre-season with Serie A side Atalanta.
Following his £72m move to Old Trafford, Hojlund impressed in the Champions League for United after he scored five times in six appearances.
However, the Denmark international went through a long-running goalscoring drought in the league in 2023, despite retaining Erik ten Hag’s faith in him.
What Keane said on Hojlund
Ahead of the Premier League clash against Tottenham, Keane pulled no punches towards Hojlund and demanded more from United’s £72m summer signing.
The United legend claimed that the Denmark striker’s goalscoring stats were “poor” and that Hojlund had missed a “lot of clear-cut chances.”
Speaking on Sky Sports, Keane said: “Well, he’s not showing it. He’s missing a lot of clear-cut chances.
“[…] For a club like Man United, you can’t keep waiting.
“Yep, he would probably say he needs more chances, he had an injury when he first came to the club, you give him the benefit of the doubt.
“But a big club like Man United, you look at them stats there for goals it’s so poor it’s unbelievable.
“Obviously, it’s not just down to him. He’s got more experienced players around him who are used to the Premier League, that desire and that hunger to put the ball in the back of the net, I don’t see it.”
Hojlund responded to Keane’s criticism
Hojlund showed his class within the opening five minutes of Old Trafford as the Danish striker fired United into the lead against Spurs.
Bruno Fernandes played a fantastic ball to send Marcus Rashford away, but the United forward took too many touches in the box before he could pull off a shot.
Hojlund seized the opportunity inside the box and smashed an unstoppable strike past Guglielmo Vicario to put United into a 1-0 lead in the third minute.
Richarlison pulled one back for Spurs in the 19th minute, but Hojlund wasted no time in responding to Keane’s criticism and picked up an assist before half-time, too.
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