Eye-opening numbers explain Rasmus Hojlund’s struggles at Man United

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Former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has given his verdict on Rasmus Hojlund’s struggles in the Premier League for Manchester United.

Rasmus Hojlund joined Manchester United for £64 million with a further £8 million in achievable add-ons but the Danish striker has failed to net a goal in the Premier League yet.

The 20-year-old has three goals in the Champions League for United but has failed to net in England’s top division.

However, it is hardly down to Hojlund spurning multiple good opportunities that he has 0 goals, he’s getting no service.

The Englishman believes that Hojlund isn’t getting enough chances and there are statistics to prove it.

Sturridge on Hojlund

Speaking on Monday Night Football, the Englishman gave his thoughts on Hojlund and believes it will take time for him to adapt at Old Trafford.

“(I’m confident) It will change,” Sturridge said, “he [Hojlund] has to have conversations with his team-mates letting them know what he likes, he has to have these conversations letting them know ‘this is what I’m like get the ball here and feed me in’.

“The manager has his ideas of how he wants his team to play. In the end, he is a project and not the perfect striker right now, not the finished article.

“It doesn’t look good but I don’t think it creates a total picture. It’s very easy to criticise him when we’ve not seen him miss loads of chances.”

Statistics prove Hojlund is not getting enough service

Sturridge is right, the Danish striker is not getting enough service. The wingers Hojlund is playing alongside are, simply put, not feeding him enough chances.

His expected goals, according to FBREF, is just 1.4, which essentially means the Dane would be expected to score just one goal from 8 Premier League games with the chances he’s had.

If that number stays consistent for the rest of the season, his xG would be around 6 for the entire season. Hojlund is also taking on average 0.47 shots per 90 at United, compared to the 1.37 he was taking per 90 at Atalanta.

The most damning statistic of them all is that the 20-year-old has received just 42 progressive passes so far. This implies that his teammates are struggling to find him in advanced positions.

This would be a worry for Erik Ten Hag and the man who probably could have solved this problem is currently out in the cold, Jadon Sancho.

Sancho completed 76 progressive passes in just 21 starts compared to Antony’s 74 in 25 starts, which suggests the Englishman may well provide a better variety of passes than the Brazilian.

Hojlund will continue to struggle as long as the service from wide areas stays the same, perhaps Facundo Pellistri could be the answer to his problems.