Rasmus Hojlund: Who is the striker Man United want to sign? | OneFootball

Manchester United’s pursuit of a fresh talismanic centre-forward is no secret given their frailties in front of goal last season.

And it’s no surprise they’re looking at Rasmus Hojlund considering Scandinavian strikers are all the rage nowadays.

20-year-old starlet Hojlund, who currently plies his trade in Italy for Atalanta, has been pinpointed since a move for Erik ten Hag’s initial target Harry Kane became unfeasible.

According to Laurie Whitwell of The Athletic, the 13-time Premier League champions have proposed players in a part-exchange deal for the sought after forward gem, Hojlund.

The Serie A club are, however, holding out for an only cash deal and have slapped a £85.85m fee on the talented Dane’s head. United’s restricted budget of a reported £100m may have a detrimental effect on business this summer, which is the reasoning behind United floating the idea of swap deals.

Andre Onana’s transfer to the club may also dent the kitty once more, so looking to offload some of the club’s deadwood in exchange is wise from the Old Trafford outfit, though, as mentioned, Atalanta are insistent on a cash payment.

Interest in Inter Milan's Onana has also raised concerns that United’s striker hunt is being put on the back burner while the goalkeeper issue is being resolved.

However, with Cristiano Ronaldo and Wout Weghorst departing the club in the last year and Anthony Martial an ever-unreliable figure, signing Hojlund should be high on their shopping list.

Without further ado, let’s delve into the beginning of his career, his exploits on the international stage, and whether he can be named Erling Haaland 2.0?

Rasmus Hojlund’s career so far

His career began in his native country at his boyhood team Copenhagen, for whom he made his debut in late 2020. He played a bit-part role for the Danish outfit, starting just five of his eventual 32 appearances and Hojlund has since spoken publicly about the lack of support he received at the club.

SK Sturm Graz came calling in the 2022 January window and this is the club where he became a well-known asset around Europe’s top clubs. So much so that his stay in Austria lasted just six months, but he did manage to rack up 16 goal involvements (12 goals and four assists) in 21 games.

Atalanta swooped him up for, on hindsight, a measly £15m as he has since become a regular at the Stadio Atleti Azzurri d’Italia and attracted interest from a footballing behemoth in United. Since his relatively low-profile switch to the club, he has yielded 10 goals and four assists in 34 appearances.

Often at Atalanta, Hojlund has typically been used as a second striker alongside one of Duvan Zapata, Luis Muriel and Ademola Lookman in a two-man partnership up top, hence why his goalscoring record doesn’t set the world alight.

Now, however, a chance to lead the line as a lone striker at one of the sport’s biggest clubs has arisen.

Style of play

While one would assume he is likely to operate using his towering frame, the Dane typically boasts a subpar aerial win rate.

Instead, he prefers to roam deeper to link players together, whether that be with a supporting striker or with the wingers on either flank. Using his size, he can be utilised as his side’s central outlet to hold the ball up. He’s an absolute nuisance to play against, basically!

Technically and positionally sound, Hojlund has no issue with finding vacant space and getting shots away at the earliest convenience, which, in turn, boosts his chances of catching opposing defenders and goalkeepers off guard.

Playing in a top two in a 3-5-2 formation has allowed the variation of his game to develop in abundance in Bergamo, rather than just his pure goalscoring ability. His ball progression capability makes him an ideal creative hub for others, particularly when his side is breaking at pace.

His shot versatility makes him a highly adaptable asset too, as he is known to finish with a curling effort, a soaring header, or a long-ranger screamer with each side of his body as familiar as the other.

You can watch him in action below.

Watch: Compilation of Rasmus Hojlund's best bits of 2023

International record for Denmark

Senior team-wise, Holjund has been a revelation for Denmark since making his debut in September 2022 against Croatia.

Since his inaugural game, he has scored an average of one goal per game, although it must be noted that five of his six tallied finishes came across two games. In a Euro 2024 qualification contest against Scandinavian neighbours Finland, the young marksman not only scored his first goal but followed up with another two to notch a hat-trick.

Just three days later and Hojlund – despite losing 3-2 against Kazakhstan – was back to being a prolific frontman once again. The 20-year-old, quite unsurprisingly, scored both goals on that occasion.

Before his promotion to the senior Danish set-up, he had represented his country at U16, U17, U19 and U21 level, but had only scored three in 25 games across all age groups.

Kasper Hjumland, the Denmark coach must have spotted; and therefore, was impressed by the intangible aspects of his game in order to call the youngster up when he was just the ripe age of 19.

Likeness to Erling Haaland

In all honesty, United’s drive for Hojlund is likely to have been fuelled further amid the growing comparisons to Manchester City’s goal-hungry striker, Erling Haaland. Because everybody wants their own answer to Haaland, right?

But how correct are the comparisons between the duo?

On face value, the pair share glaring similarities. Both have long blonde hair, are of an imposing height, boast a thunderous left-footed striking ability and have a knack for slotting it in the back of the net. Oh, and their surnames sound scarily similar.

Hojlund is quick-thinking forward with an abundance of speed known for his fox-in-the-box nature, which is unnervingly similar to his counterpart. While the Atalanta starlet isn't as lethal yet, his variation of shot choice make him as unpredictable as they come, a valuable asset for a perennial goalscorer to have. At just 20, he is still raw in certain areas, but regular minutes at an elite-level side could are certainly the right ingredients to take his career up a notch.

Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini even compared his thriving summer coup with the 2022/23 Premier League Golden Boot winner Haaland.

“Hojlund has this spirit, energy, intensity, but also the technical quality that is just remarkable. He still has a margin for improvement, too.

“He has very similar characteristics to Haaland. He is so quick, he’s under 11 seconds over 100m and that’s not even trying very hard. Considering his height, he has a low centre of gravity. I am convinced he’ll have a great career, he just gets stronger every day.”

And although Hojlund admitted to seeing the similarities himself, he told the Australian Bundesliga website: “As I’ve said many times before, I would not like to compare myself to him because he’s a monster, he’s crazy!”

Should Hojlund be Old Trafford bound within the coming weeks or months, he should remain solely focused on his own personal development, which will likely be a task that Ten Hag will be on hand to help with.