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Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has come in for criticism this season but a former Red Devils favourite thinks that the young Denmark star can still come good
Louis Saha says Rasmus Hojlund is too young to be given the responsibility of leading the line at Manchester United – but can come good given time. Danish striker Hojlund, 22, arrived at Old Trafford from Atalanta in 2023 for a whopping £72million.
He has scored 24 goals in 88 appearances for United, with just 13 coming in the Premier League – at an average of 0.22 goals per game in the top flight. United also brought in Joshua Zirkzee, 23, last summer to bolster options up front, but the Dutchman has also found the going tough in Manchester.
And Saha, who played at United for five seasons under Sir Alex Ferguson, insists the young strikers need help around them to improve. Speaking to Mega Dice about Hojlund, Saha said: “He should not have all the weight on his shoulders that he’s got at the moment, where like everybody is saying he should be scoring 15 to 20 goals.
“I’ve always thought young players need experienced players around them, to shoulder the responsibility. Then those younger players can really learn.
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“When I arrived at Manchester United, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were here. I was definitely not given the responsibility straight away. Then when you have two young boys on the flanks like Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, you tend to see that those guys have enormous potential, but we were all learning, so it would have been very dangerous to not have Van Nistelrooy to provide leadership.
“It’s really demanding and Rasmus has tried his best, you can see his motivation, but his confidence dropped to the bottom. I can’t see any change if the season remains like this. He has to go on holiday, to work really hard and obviously start really well and then things can change. Football is very quick like that.”
United face Bournemouth today before the first leg of their Europa League semi-final first leg against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday. So, given the amazing comeback over Lyon in the last round, can it be a catalyst for Ruben Amorim’s side to go and win that competition?
Saha added: “I want to say yes. Normally, it’s logical, but the way they did it was so erratic and chaotic. They showed great spirit, and that’s encouraging, but they showed a lot of fragility. You saw that against Wolves at the weekend in the league, but it’s been like that in Europe too. The deeper they go in the Europa League, the better the teams, the more resilient they are.
“United need to solve their problems now, before they get punished in the semi-finals. You need to know about the opponent’s strengths, of course, but you need to begin with the belief that you’re an amazing team who can beat anyone.
“But first, they need to solve their big problems, and they can’t hide. They need to prepare every detail. They really need to think about their strengths, that’s for sure.
“At United, it’s almost like there’s a virus that comes and goes that affects them mentally.”
Louis Saha was speaking on behalf of Mega Dice. For more information, visit mega-dice43.com
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