Ahead of facing Lyon, Rasmus Hojlund took the words right out the mouths of ticked off Manchester United: just why can’t he score goals?
‘I sit myself down and look at my game to see what I can do better,’ Hojlund told Denmark’s equivalent of Disney+, as per Bergens Tidende, when asked about his barren run.
‘I also stand somewhere and think: “Why the hell is it that I can’t score? Where is it that it’s going wrong?”.’
Those are two questions nobody can quite seem to figure out – and time is running out to find an answer.
Hojlund’s nightmare display in Lyon, which saw French newspaper L’Equipe rate him as the worst player on the pitch with a 2/10 grade, even worse than team-mate Andre Onana, typified the crossroads he is at in his career.
Rasmus Hojlund’s blank in Lyon means he has scored once in the past 25 Man United games
Ruben Amorim is having to persist with the young Dane due to a lack of striker alternatives
The 22-year-old is wilting in the spotlight. He is regressing, if truth be told. If you want to be a little kinder you could say he is at a standstill and not making progress.
Just 11 touches to his name from 63 minutes of action – and one shot on target – underline just how peripheral a role Hojlund plays in this anaemic United attack.
That is an important distinction, too. This side is anaemic when it attacks. Outside of Bruno Fernandes the genuine goal threat is little to none.
But L’Equipe put it best.
‘Rasmus Hojlund (2) contributed absolutely nothing to his team,’ they wrote. ‘He was easily shut down by the Lyon defence.’
Easily. They barely had to get out of first gear to keep him quiet.
Fifteen touches against Manchester City, zero shots. Sixteen touches in 45 minutes against Nottingham Forest, one shot. A lot of Hojlund’s performances all blend into one unforgettable episode.
His blank in the south of France makes it just one goal – against a Leicester City side that is one of the worst in Premier League history – from his past 25 United appearances in all competitions.
Hojlund managed just 11 touches against Lyon as he scored a game-worst 2/10 from L’Equipe
His confidence has been shot to pieces again and it looks a long road back to finding top form
Loan interest in Hojlund this summer could come as a blessing in disguise for player and club
‘I’m not the type to lie down and give up,’ he said in that Disney+ chat.
‘That’s also why I played and started in those games [during 21-game goal drought]. It’s because I’ve continued to work for the team and on my own game.’
There are large pockets of the fanbase that are ready to cut their losses on Hojlund with a move for a striker, potentially Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap, being lined up for the summer.
But the more apt next move may be out of the Amad Diallo and Diogo Dalot playbook – a loan move to craft your game away from the bright lights of Manchester United.
Initially there would be scrutiny, the first couple of games undoubtedly. But Antony is thriving with Real Betis now. Very few fans are keeping tabs on the progress of Tyrell Malacia at PSV Eindhoven. Attention on Marcus Rashford, while high, isn’t as intense at Aston Villa as it previously has been at United.
Amad can testify to the merits of a loan, so too can Dalot, should he be erring on the side of sticking around and riding out this storm.
Amad tasted first team action after joining from Atalanta before loans were sanctioned at Rangers – which didn’t go too well – and Sunderland, where he finished as their top scorer in the 2022-23 season. He returned to United as a far better player.
‘I think that this will help me a lot for next year,’ Amad said in 2023 of his time at Sunderland.
Both Amad Diallo (left) and Diogo Dalot (right) improved as players while being away on loan
Hojlund’s Man United career doesn’t have to be over – but he needs to get out of the spotlight
‘It has helped me mature, and I have grown lots, on a mental level as well, and feel I have the ability to show this next season.’
Dalot is a good example, too, having turned his career around with a one-season secondment at AC Milan.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka arrived and having fallen down the pecking order, Dalot headed to Italy on loan in a do-or-die moment for his prospects at United. Much like Amad, it was a gamble that paid off away from the burning bright spotlight at Old Trafford.
‘It was perfect,’ Dalot said previously of his Milan loan. ‘I met very good people in the club, very good people in the city and it was fantastic.
‘The chance to play in another fantastic league brought me some very good stuff, not just for football but for my life as well.’
With speculation intensifying over Hojlund’s future, and loan interest accumulating in Italy, Hojlund could do worse than explore taking a step back to take steps forward again for United.
Right now the crumb of confidence he earned with goals against Leicester City and against Portugal while away with Denmark has long vanished.
‘[Amorim] told me today to not think too much about the guys behind me and try to work a bit more on what was in front of me, being very aggressive towards goal,’ the Dane said back in November after a brace against Bodo/Glimt.
He’s gone backwards since then and should he shun a loan in a bid to defiantly try to ride out the storm, it likely does more harm than good for his prospects of wearing the Manchester United shirt for too much longer.
