As he continues to navigate a challenging second season at Manchester United, it’s easy to forget Rasmus Hojlund is still only 22 and developing all the time.
The Denmark international joined in 2023, regarded as one of the most exciting young talents in European football. He scored 16 goals from 43 appearances across all competitions in his debut season, and also won the Emirates FA Cup.
Hojlund’s second campaign began with an injury, just moments after scoring in the opening match of Tour 2024. He returned to action in late September and, like the team, he has struggled to produce consistent performances so far this term.
Rasmus scored his eighth goal of 2024/25 in our last match, the 3-0 win at Leicester City, and he followed that up with a winner against Portugal in the international break. As his momentum builds, it is hoped the youngster can kick on.
Here, United Academy graduate and former Premier League striker Danny Webber gives us his expert insight into the Danish striker’s attributes and assets, and picks out where the youngster can develop further in the big year ahead…
Hey Danny. From your point of view as a striker, what are Rasmus’s main qualities and attributes?
“If you look at the goals he’s scored since he’s been at United, most of them are strikers’ goals when he’s in and around 12 yards from goal, with one and two touches in the box. If we can get him in those positions, I think he will finish chances. I like his endeavour; he’s up for the scrap, which is a prerequisite, and something you want from your forwards and all of your players.”
What is the one thing that impresses you most about his game?
“The fact that he’s willing. In the box his finishing is sublime, his one-touch and two-touch finishes. He knows how to manoeuvre the ball, which is something you need as a striker. There are many people that play in that position who don’t know how to do what he does. The challenge is getting him in those positions more often and running the channels. There are times when he’s running the channel, getting down the side of centre-backs, and he’s devastating. He’s strong, he’s quick and he’s got a finish at the end of it. That’s when you see Rasmus at his best.”
Rasmus turned 22 in February; at what age would you expect to see Rasmus at his peak, and what can he look to improve on to reach that peak?
“The peak for a striker is usually around the mid-20s, but what you want to be seeing is improvement in his game, and the things he’s working on on the training pitch coming out in the game. One of the things I notice is that he wrestles a lot with the centre-halves. I see him engage in the physical battles with centre-halves, and it’s tiring. That’s not something you can fault in his mentality – the fact he’s up for the fight is really important – but if you’re doing that for an hour in the game, you lose your potency and power because it takes a lot of energy to wrestle with somebody for that length of time. So little bits of movement where he’s not engaging, and if he does have to contact the defender it’s him in control – and also not with his back to goal all the time, because it’s very difficult playing with your back to goal for 60 minutes. You can do a lot of the dirty work but not look dangerous, so you need to look for little pockets of movement.
“Sir Alex sent me away to Watford with Gianluca Vialli when I was 20, to work on my movement, and it was the best thing I could ever have done. I didn’t have the physical presence of Rasmus but it taught me not to get involved in the physical battle. You can use your physicality when needed but you’re working on having one touch then spin, and then defenders can’t touch you. Those are the sorts of things I’d like to see from Rasmus and they could help him to score 25 goals a season, because I think he’s capable.”
Last season he hit double figures in the league. How much potential do you think he has to go on to become that player who can score even more?
“He has all the potential. And some of it isn’t potential, some it he realises, but he needs consistency, to be able to stay fit consistently, and create rhythm and habits that get you into goalscoring positions regularly. That will be the one thing that changes his whole game and ramps his goalscoring levels up, because to get 16 goals last season in a team that didn’t do so well is a good return considering the number of games he missed. If we can keep him fit and he keeps getting in the right areas, and if we create chances for him, it’s almost a no-brainer that he’s going to get you 25-30 goals.”
Going into a new calendar year with a fresh perspective, working on a new style of play with a new manager, how big a year can this be for him?
“It’s as big as he makes it. And as a striker you have to demand from the people around you, too, so it’s as big as he wants it to be. When Cristiano Ronaldo was here he demanded that people put the ball in certain places for him. He did all the work off the pitch. And I’m not saying Rasmus is Cristiano Ronaldo by any stretch of the imagination, but if you’re a striker and you’re not getting chances, you have to go and have conversations and be a good communicator. Speak to your wingers, speak to Bruno, and tell them where you want the ball, because you want to score goals for Man United. Identify where you’re strong and identify where you’re going to get your goals. You know that if you score goals it is only going to help the team. So you’ve got to communicate verbally and do your work off the pitch.”
“It’s about tweaks with strikers and gaining margins of advantage against centre-halves, so it’s easier to be destructive and be creative. You can’t be wrestling all the time and not be ready when that one big chance comes along, so you speak to the wide men and tell them where you want the ball, so I know when you’ve got the ball in those areas the ball is going to come in and I can run with conviction and be ready for that one chance. You watch Mo Salah. He stays high. As soon as Liverpool break they look for him and he knows where he’s going to run and all of a sudden he’s one-v-one against a defender. That’s what Rasmus has got to do. Isolate himself one-v-one against someone and get himself beyond defenders.”