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Rasmus Hojlund has had a pretty decent first season at Manchester United, all things considered.
The 21-year-old arrived at Old Trafford last summer from the newly crowned Europa League winners Atalanta.
In his debut campaign at Manchester United, he has registered 18 goals and 2 assists in all competitions.
He will be looking to add to that tally on Saturday, when United face local rivals Manchester City in the Emirates FA Cup final.
Considering that he only scored ten goals for Atalanta in the 2022/23 season, and his age profile, many would say that Hojlund has had a good first season in Manchester.
However, one area that many feel that things could improve for Hojlund at United is the number of chances that he receives from teammates.
It’s well documented that the wingers at United, whether that’s Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho or Antony, much better to cut in and shoot. With Hojlund being much more of a traditional forward, United don’t have many players that you’d label as traditional wingers. This has led to reports recently that the reason United player don’t pass to the young Dane is because they don’t think he’s good enough.
Now, Hojlund has shared his thoughts on the matter.
The Denmark striker has labelled the media’s stories about him as ’90-95% nonsense’ in a recent interview with Danish outlet TipsBladet.
“I don’t understand such an article, I feel like I get the ball if I’m in the right positions.
“I would have liked to get the ball more sometimes, but it’s just not always possible.
“It’s another example of something I have to shut out because it’s just a lot of noise,” said Hojlund on the recent reports that his teammates don’t want to pass the ball to him.
However, the magnitude of the club and the media coverage has brought a lot of pressure on the Dane’s shoulders and this is something that he has conceded.
”You feel crazy pressure when you are at Manchester United.
“There are eyes on you all the time on and off the pitch because the club is so huge. It takes some time to get used to, but I feel I have found a rhythm,” Hojlund told the newspaper.
He said that while he has always wanted to get to this point, playing for the club of his dreams, there is a downside to all the attention.
“That’s the part I miss – being able to be left alone and behaving like an idiot if that’s what I wanted.
“I miss being able to mind my own business without wondering if anyone is listening and keeping an eye on the fact that Rasmus Hojlund is out there somewhere.”
Once things for sure – once you join Manchester United, your profile grows exponentially. And that’s something that Hojlund has clearly found out in a short space of time.
But it’s great news for fans that he’s debunked rumours about his teammates. The striker seems to be taking the blame on his own shoulders for not being in the right positions rather than throw his fellow players under the bus.
And it’s that kind of team ethic that United fans will hope will endear young Rasmus to his teammates further.
