Bayer Leverkusen chief explains why he considers Rasmus Hojlund a “street footballer” | OneFootball

Bayer Leverkusen chief Keld Bordinggaard has said that Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund firmly fits the mould of what he considers a “street footballer.”

United forked out £72m last summer to secure Hojlund’s services from Italian outfit Atalanta.

The Dane initially struggled to open his goalscoring account in the Premier League despite being very prolific in the Champions League before United’s elimination from the competition.

Hojlund finally broke his duck in England’s top flight on Boxing Day last year during a sensational comeback against Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

Since then, he has not looked back.

The United man has plundered seven goals in the Premier League alone and 13 in total across all competitions. This is despite him missing a number of games this term due to injury.

Hojlund even won the league’s February Player of the Month award for his exploits.

The 21-year-old has certainly shown that he has what it takes to lead the line for United for many years to come.

Keld Bordinggaard, head of coaching at Leverkusen spoke to Tribal Football and branded Hojlund as a street footballer.

The former Denmark international divulged, “A street-footballer is often perceived as a creative freestyler, but that is not how I look at it. In my opinion, a street-footballer is a technically gifted player who makes good decisions quickly.”

Alongside Hojlund, the Leverkusen chief also noted that Germany international Florian Wirtz fits the description.

He added about Hojlund, ” He is raw with a lot of quality, and he is a player who is very good at connecting with the players around him.”

“But he also received a very good schooling at FC Copenhagen. Perhaps even better than they knew themselves.”

Hojlund of course started out at FC Copenhagen but was offloaded to Sturm Graz. From there, a switch to Atalanta followed before United swooped in for him last year.

Bordinggaard told Tribal Football, “Sturm clearly spotted a player who could help them at a level just below FC Copenhagen. For him to develop like that, no one saw coming. Obviously, FC Copenhagen wouldn’t have let him go, if they had.”

“That is what happens when humans enter the equation and thankfully, we see that all the time. You can’t put a footballer’s development in a formula, there are simply too many variables.”

The Leverkusen chief also opened up on ex-United star Jesper Olsen.

Bordinggaard revealed that he rates Olsen as one of the best players Denmark has ever produced but he lies just a level below the likes of Michael Laudrup and Allan Simonsen.