Pre-season is a time for breakouts, but after a dismal last season for Man Utd, there is an air of redemption around the club as well, personified by one player.
Not many players can claim to have come out of the last season with their reputations intact, let alone enhanced.
With 2025/26 being Ruben Amorim’s first full season, and the manager already promising “good days” at the end of 2024/25, the clock is ticking.
It is brilliant to see, therefore, that one player is scripting a stunning comeback story at Old Trafford after being completely written off. It can have massive ramifications.
Man Utd dream not given up by Rasmus Hojlund
Of all the players who took a hit to their stock last season, Rasmus Hojlund was probably right at the top of the list to be derided the most.
Not only did his game take a large step back, but his mental strength looked gone, and he was completely devoid of any confidence.
That vicious cycle made him expendable despite his age and promise of potential, leading to Man Utd’s links to a striker.
Hojlund was likely to leave this summer, and with links to Benjamin Sesko gaining pace, that still might end up being the case.
However, the Danish striker is not giving up on his Man Utd dream without a fight, as he has come back to the 2025/26 season like a man on a mission.
Against Bournemouth, he continued the good work he showed against Leeds and West Ham. This time, he was rewarded with a goal as well.
With the obvious caveat of a small sample size and that, too, in pre-season, Hojlund is starting to do all the things that he wasn’t last season.
He’s holding up the ball, acting as a release valve when United play it long over the press, bringing others into the play, and carrying the ball forward when he has space to run into.
Amorim said after the game: “The important thing is that Rasmus is scoring goals. He’s connecting really well with the team. He’s improving.”
Hojlund might change Man Utd’s plans
Nobody at Man Utd will be, or should be thinking that three good games from Hojlund mean they don’t need to sign a striker anymore.
However, if recent reports are correct and United don’t need to sell anyone they don’t want to sell to buy Sesko, then a change of plans could be in order.
Common sense dictated that if a striker were to come in, Hojlund would make way, but now that he’s finally looking like a part of a well-drilled team, United might think twice about giving up on him.
If Zirkzee’s long-term future is an attacking midfielder, then keeping Hojlund and the new striker to compete for the No. 9 spot is a good call.
That is even truer if United’s priority is Sesko, who will need competition and shielding from time to time, which is where Hojlund can step in.
Hojlund’s debut season proved he has bags of potential, and 2024/25 was not a glorious one for anyone, let alone a lonely striker at the tip of a dysfunctional attack.
He might just be showing that he is worth persisting with. It would be a stunning comeback story after the events of last season and the narrative coming into this season.
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