Sport
When the Manchester United team sheet was published ahead of Sunday’s match against Crystal Palace, there was much confusion. There was no designated centre forward. Instead, Kobbie Mainoo was deployed through the middle of the attack with Rasmus Hojlund only included on the United bench.
Mainoo had impressed as an attack-minded midfielder in the Europa League win over FCSB a few days earlier, but this was still a damning indictment on Hojlund and his standing at Old Trafford. Was this proof that Amorim has lost faith in the Danish striker? Has the Manchester United manager given up on Hojlund?
For a long time, the argument made about Hojlund was that he required better service from his teammates. This certainly held some weight as the Dane was forced to feed off scraps as the likes of Bruno Fernandes, Antony and Marcus Rashford were more concerned with finding the back of the net themselves.
Now, though, Amorim is setting up his team to be more collaborative in their attacking sequences and Hojlund isn’t improving. The 21-year-old isn’t strong enough with his back to goal and doesn’t do enough to find good positions inside the opposition penalty area. It’s understandable that Amorim has looked for other options up front.
Of course, Manchester United were always aware that Hojlund would be a developmental player. He’d played just one full season in Serie A and was raw even as he caught the eye for Atalanta. However, United threw Hojlund in at the deep end when they should have been more careful with his growth.
If anything, Hojlund has gone backwards in his development. When he made his Manchester United debut, he at least played with some explosiveness. Now, even that is gone. The 21-year-old appears burdened by the pressure of playing for such a big club and isn’t scoring enough goals to justify his starting place.
While Manchester United entered the January transfer window in need of attacking reinforcements, they have exited in an even weaker position following the loan departures of Rashford and Antony. The second half of the season could see United suffer for goals even more acutely. It’s unclear where the firepower will come from.
Now is the time for Hojlund to step up and deliver on the potential he demonstrated at Atalanta, but there is little to suggest he will give Manchester United the cutting edge they desperately need to climb the Premier League table. The Mainoo experiment might not have worked against Crystal Palace, but Hojlund’s stock still hasn’t increased.
Amorim is experimenting in all areas of the pitch. He has used different options in the wing back positions with the Manchester United manager also chopping and changing in midfield from game-to-game. It was always likely to be this way as Amorim assesses what he has inherited before remoulding the squad in his own image.
Hojlund might only have a few months to make an impression on the new manager at Old Trafford. If the Dane’s dismal goalscoring form continues, Manchester United will surely make a move for a new centre forward in the summer transfer window. The likes of Viktor Gyokeres and Victor Osimhen have been linked in the past.
The addition of a ready-made goalscorer might actually help Hojlund develop under the radar with some of the pressure taken off him. Until then, though, the young Dane’s weaknesses are being brutally highlighted as the focal point of a team that is only getting worse as the season progresses. Hojlund isn’t solely to blame for that, but he isn’t helping matters.
