Manchester United have recently announced the signing of 20-year-old Danish striker, Rasmus Hojlund from Atlanta for a five-year deal.
Despite the hefty price tag and overall average career stats, the Dane has the potential to revolutionise a team which has been lacking a sustainable number nine for the past few seasons.
He is somewhat of a mix between Harry Kane and Erling Haaland, being able to drop back to
link play between the lines when United have the ball in the buildup, while also having the physicality to compete head-to-head with the physical brutes of the Premier League if they need to play directly to him.
He has the speed to run freely in the back if they need to counter. He can link play as previously stated but can also create space behind the defensive line for someone like Marcus Rashford or Antony to attack using their deadly pace.
Moreover, unlike most young elite strikers, his dribbling skills are unparalleled for someone of his size, with 93 percentile for carries into the box and 83rd for successful take-ons (source: FBRef).
His positional discipline is commendable, staying central, which will allow United to crowd the wing areas with inverted full backs; Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot have already shown they have the talent and presence of mind of making the runs in behind and assisting their respective wingers.
This positioning makes defences uncomfortable and reluctant to stretch their defensive lines to meet the threat on the wings; and while Hojlund’s aerial presence is not the best, he makes up for it through well-timed runs, great positioning and pure ball striking.
Though he has been accused of not scoring enough goals as someone of his reputation is expected to, that is bound to change once he gets accustomed to Old Trafford, playing in front of the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen and having the luxury to feast on the crosses of Shaw and Dalot.
He has the potential to become Man United’s main man for the upcoming seasons as he has all
the qualities that Erik ten Hag has always demanded for strikers playing for him.
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