First impressions count for a lot and Rasmus Hojlund is making a positive impact early on in his Manchester United career.
The £64 million price tag has skewed a lot of expectation when it comes to Rasmus Hojlund. It is a fee paid for what Hojlund ‘could become’, rather than what he is right now.
Hojlund is young enough to play for United’s under-21 side, and has just one season experience in a top European league.
Manchester United are asking a lot of Hojlund, to lead the line for the most scrutinised team in football, who are going through a real rough patch right now. And he seems to be embracing it.
Rasmus Hojlund is the present and the future
It is a while since Manchester United have been able to enjoy a striker leading the line, knowing he is going to improve rather than regress.
In recent seasons United fans have been blessed to see two of the best strikers of this generation lead the line, with Edinson Cavani and then Cristiano Ronaldo. For a few very brief occasions, they even lined up in the same team.
While United fans were able to enjoy their performances and celebrate the goals, it was always with the knowledge it would be shortlived, with both strikers in their mid-30s.
United needed a longer term solution. There was hope Mason Greenwood would be that player, but he played mostly on the right, with the expectation he would eventually take over as a centre-forward. This is now off the agenda.
The last signing United hoped would provide the solution was Romelu Lukaku, who was signed when he was 24. There was a hope he would peak and develop into one of the world’s best. Instead he stagnated, and lasted just two seasons at Old Trafford.
Hojlund has been signed a lot earlier in his career, at the age of 20. Whatever he is able to contribute now, it could be far greater in the future. The £64 million fee may look like a real bargain.
It is comparable to the situation of Victor Osimhen. United could have signed him a couple of years ago when Napoli signed him from Lille for around £70 million. He was just 21 at the time.
If that looked like a gamble, it has paid off, with Osimhen leading Napoli to win Serie A last season, and the Italian club have subsequently hiked up his price tag to almost double the fee they paid, with The Express reporting he would have cost clubs £130 million this summer.
The Osimhen gamble is one United will reflect they wish they took in summer 2020. But rather than chase his success and pay a fee the club could not afford, the club is looking to emulate it by repeating Napoli’s success of buying at the right time.
The early Hojlund signs look good
There is a long way for Hojlund to go to repeat Osimhen’s success. It is not as simple as spending £70 million on a young striker and hoping he will improve. There has to be a lot of work put into talent identification, and then development once he arrives.
Hojlund may not have scored at a ridiculous rate last season, but in context, he was a standout. He was the only player in Serie A aged 20 or under to contribute 10 goals last season, and one of only five young players to surpass 10 league goal contributions in Europe’s top leagues.
The early signs look good. Hojlund is playing like the penalty box predator Manchester United have lacked in recent seasons.
He works hard off the ball, he is quick, he is a constant menace for defenders, and now has added confidence from a goal away at Bayern Munich too.
In his opening games, United could not have asked for much more. This season is almost a bonus for him. The best is yet to come.
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