Rasmus Hojlund continues to look out of place at Manchester United as Ruben Amorim is faced with his biggest problem at Old Trafford.
The Reds desperately need a new striker this summer, with Hojlund's stats continuing to cause alarm at M16. United's Danish forward has netted just eight goals across all competitions this season.
In total, Hojlund has scored just 24 times in 84 appearances since completing a £72million move to United from Atalanta in August 2023. The Denmark international is not totally to blame with a severe lack of creativity in Amorim's team restricting Hojlund's goalscoring opportunities.
But when the 22-year-old does have a chance to find the back of the net, he often lacks the conviction and composure to score. That was evidenced during Sunday's disappointing 1-0 defeat at home to Wolves.
In a rare opportunity during the defeat to Vitor Pereira's team, Hojlund's excellent play saw him fashion a clear goalscoring opportunity in the 53rd minute. However, he lacked the speed of thought to take advantage of the space he created and Wolves' defenders soon caught up with him.
Then, in the 65th minute, he came even closer to scoring after a perfect cross from Alejandro Garnacho. A striker with more confidence would have got on the end of Garnacho's ball to put Amorim's men 1-0 up.
It summed up his afternoon and his United career as a whole. Just one goal in 28 matches is a pitiful return for any striker and that highlights Amorim's biggest issue.
United will have to find goals from other areas of the pitch to save their miserable season, as they did during Thursday's thrilling win over Lyon. There will be hope that the signing of another striker will allow Hojlund to develop without the pressure of leading the line for Amorim's side every week.
And yet, a more likely outcome is that the Reds will have to cut their losses on another expensive mistake by letting Hojlund leave on loan or on a vastly reduced transfer fee to the one they paid to sign him. Whatever happens this season, it's hard to see there being any way back for a player who has looked out of his depth from almost the minute he arrived in Manchester.
Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.
Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.
You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.
And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.
Get United transfer news and updates on WhatsApp!
Our team of Manchester United experts are on top of all the goings-on at Old Trafford for this week and beyond, and you can get the latest team news, injury updates, reaction and analysis along with inside information to your phone by joining our new free WhatsApp community. You can also join the 50,000 (and growing!) band of United fans who are following our WhatsApp Channel.
Sign up to our community here, and join our WhatsApp channel here.
--
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
