Rasmus Højlund | Signed for United

[glasgow 21]

What a terrible suggestion

Terrible what ? Amad ? yeah you can note it and quote me on this in a few years. I will either be right or wrong. Amad will not hit the heights some may suggest but it is only my opinion. I will be happy if im wrong but thats my call whilst we are short of money and not right sided players.

 

[Shakesy]

Is this a goer?

 

[fergieisold]

To be fair he’s not wrong. It probably is something on the agenda that utd are deciding what to do. There’s no final decision been made yet.

I’m gonna bet they’ve already decided and he’ll be back. Despite my thoughts on him as a person he is innocent in the eyes of the law and must be given a chance.

 

[glasgow 21]

To be fair he’s not wrong. It probably is something on the agenda that utd are deciding what to do. There’s no final decision been made yet.

This is what's wrong at UTD, no decisive decision making from board level either in club sale or players in/outs. Make a decision and stick to it one way or other, I for one have had enough of this dilly dangling and festers negativity irrespective of what side of the argument you are on.

 

[Gandalf]

I’m gonna bet they’ve already decided and he’ll be back. Despite my thoughts on him as a person he is innocent in the eyes of the law and must be given a chance.

A lot of speculation over a loan move for next season, allow him to regain form and rebuild his career away from the British tabloids for a year before making a final decision on bringing him back or selling him.

 

[DJ_21]

It’s actually sad that we’re having to either prioritise a top ST or a top GK. we should be able to get both.

 

[SAFMUTD]

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The valuation is so far away from a reasonable price that it doesnt even make sense to start the negotiations, just move on.

 

[Chief123]

This is what's wrong at UTD, no decisive decision making from board level either in club sale or players in/outs. Make a decision and stick to it one way or other, I for one have had enough of this dilly dangling and festers negativity irrespective of what side of the argument you are on.

I personally think the Glazers are happy not to deal with it and let the new owners deal with the headache.

 

[Isotope]

Watching several clips, and here's the best one. He seems pretty good on holding the ball and bring others into play. But other than that, he seems like a run of the mill striker with nothing to get excited about.

 

[Gandalf]

It’s actually sad that we’re having to either prioritise a top ST or a top GK. we should be able to get both.

I do think we will be able to get both, just that the Glazers won't sign off on both deals until some sales are made. We need to get to work on this and it baffles me that we are so slow in this regard. Just for example, Roma had to sell 30M Euros worth of players by June 30th to comply with FFP and they went straight to work at the end of the season completing 4 deals and raising the cash with a couple of days to spare. We know we need to sell in order to add funds to the initial 100M that we were given to work with and yet so far nothing except a couple of miniscule deals for Academy players.

Selling the likes of Maguire might well be complicated and he might be tough to shift but a guy like Henderson could and should have been sold already along with the likes of Fred and Donny who have signalled they are open to moving on.

 

[cpresc]

This is what's wrong at UTD, no decisive decision making from board level either in club sale or players in/outs. Make a decision and stick to it one way or other, I for one have had enough of this dilly dangling and festers negativity irrespective of what side of the argument you are on.

So you'd genuinely prefer we lost De Gea for example with no replacement lined up? Potentially going into the new season with basically no-one and also getting rinsed by any selling clubs because they know we're desperate... how is that a better scenario?

 

[tinofapples]

It seems like that big wages policy is still on-going after Woody left. So it's probably not him?

I read somewhere today that Rasmus would be catapulted into one of our top earners if it goes ahead, really hope that's BS. The lad is probably on €50k a week at most, double his wages yeah, maybe treble them but 250k+ is the same stupidity all over again.

 

[L1nk]

70m is not broke. There is also a RCF that we can use, credible journalists have explained that cash is not our problem, FFP is.

Also we don't pay fees upfront, but in installments. So strucutred payments being possible make our moves very possible if FFP is not hindering us.

Sure you believe what you want but we're still haggling over whether to resign DDG and whether to sign a GK or Striker before selling players. Otherwise we'd be much further along in our plans

 

[VP89]

Sure you believe what you want but we're still haggling over whether to resign DDG and whether to sign a GK or Striker before selling players. Otherwise we'd be much further along in our plans

Owing to FFP limitations, yes.

 

[croadyman]

Watching several clips, and here's the best one. He seems pretty good on holding the ball and bring others into play. But other than that, he seems like a run of the mill striker with nothing to get excited about.

He is starting to look like another unwanted player when I see posts like this. Clearly there is no striker target that the majority are actually going to agree on

 

[Newtonius]

I’m gonna bet they’ve already decided and he’ll be back. Despite my thoughts on him as a person he is innocent in the eyes of the law and must be given a chance.

Be very surprised if they didn't let him back eventually when you weight it against the decision, his talent and the state of the striker market. About the worst that will happen is some bad press and that will itself go away pretty quickly it always does when the new topic that gets people riled up comes around, particularly if he plays well.

 

[FrankDrebin]

Watching several clips, and here's the best one. He seems pretty good on holding the ball and bring others into play. But other than that, he seems like a run of the mill striker with nothing to get excited about.

Not a flashy or silky player but he does look like a functional hardworking centre forward who seems mature in his hold up play and ,overall, teamplay, though there were a fair few moments where he over hit a pass.

 

[Dominos]

Watching several clips, and here's the best one. He seems pretty good on holding the ball and bring others into play. But other than that, he seems like a run of the mill striker with nothing to get excited about.

Highlights are always going to show the best of his hold up play, you can make Lukaku and Nunez look like good link up players if you only show their best bits. Videos of all involvements in any given game are going to give a much better picture of his level.

The problem with this signing is a I don't actually believe we'll get 2 strikers, even if that's what ETH ideally wants. We're apparently on a very very tight budget, and we really needed 2 strikers, 2 midfielders, a centre back to replace Maguire as well as a goalkeeper.

So if he's the only striker we really need him to come in and hit the ground running. Very big ask given his age and his current level.

 

[croadyman]

Highlights are always going to show the best of his hold up play, you can make Lukaku and Nunez look like good link up players if you only show their best bits. Videos of all involvements in any given game are going to give a much better picture of his level.

The problem with this signing is a I don't actually believe we'll get 2 strikers, even if that's what ETH ideally wants. We're apparently on a very very tight budget, and we really needed 2 strikers, 2 midfielders, a centre back to replace Maguire as well as a goalkeeper.

So if he's the only striker we really need him to come in and hit the ground running. Very big ask given his age and his current level.

We were never gonna sign 6 players this window

 

[L1nk]

We can look at videos all we want but if ETH and the club see's fit to try and sign him they are hardly looking at him and his metrics and thinking he's shit are they. They see the potential clearly.

 

[croadyman]

We can look at videos all we want but if ETH and the club see's fit to try and sign him they are hardly looking at him and his metrics and thinking he's shit are they. They see the potential clearly.

Not against him,however we have to sort out Onana and a striker first most likely Hojlund. However there seems to be very mixed feelings about him being signed too

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Minutes played is what you should look at, not how many matches he has appeared in.

When I watch the clips of him scoring, his go-to move is to pause, flick the ball past the defender, and run onto it. I don't think this is a sustainable trick in the Prem. I am not seeing his movement befuddle his markers, or him creating space where there was none and carving out a shot. He's almost a textbook example of a flat track bully. I do like that he's unafraid to shoot from outside the box, and he does whip in a good cross.

The Premier is such a different beast from the leagues he's played in. Not saying Italian clubs can't pull our pants down, but on a week-in week-out basis, the intensity level difference is massive. This is who he scored against:
Monza (11th place)
Spezia Calcio (17th)
Bologna (9th)
Salternitana (15th)
Lazio (2nd) - I guess technically Lazio was good last season
Lecce (16th)
Hellas Verona (18th)
Monza (again)

He's not even scoring against the good Italian sides. Granted, he doesn't play for one of the good Italian sides, either. Does anyone remember when Jozy Altidore scored like 26 goals in the Eridivisie (AZ Alkmaar) in one season? He moved to Sunderland and scored 3. For the "eye test", Altidore clearly didn't have what it would take in the PL, yet Sunderland signed him anyway. Hojland's numbers are nowhere near as impressive as Altidore's, and the "eye test" is about the same for me.

 

[Isotope]

I read somewhere today that Rasmus would be catapulted into one of our top earners if it goes ahead, really hope that's BS. The lad is probably on €50k a week at most, double his wages yeah, maybe treble them but 250k+ is the same stupidity all over again.

That seems BS to me. But then we gave Anthony 200k and Jason Mount 250k. So i don't know anymore.

 

[croadyman]

When I watch the clips of him scoring, his go-to move is to pause, flick the ball past the defender, and run onto it. I don't think this is a sustainable trick in the Prem. I am not seeing his movement befuddle his markers, or him creating space where there was none and carving out a shot. He's almost a textbook example of a flat track bully. I do like that he's unafraid to shoot from outside the box, and he does whip in a good cross.

The Premier is such a different beast from the leagues he's played in. Not saying Italian clubs can't pull our pants down, but on a week-in week-out basis, the intensity level difference is massive. This is who he scored against:
Monza (11th place)
Spezia Calcio (17th)
Bologna (9th)
Salternitana (15th)
Lazio (2nd) - I guess technically Lazio was good last season
Lecce (16th)
Hellas Verona (18th)
Monza (again)

He's not even scoring against the good Italian sides. Granted, he doesn't play for one of the good Italian sides, either. Does anyone remember when Jozy Altidore scored like 26 goals in the Eridivisie (AZ Alkmaar) in one season? He moved to Sunderland and scored 3. For the "eye test", Altidore clearly didn't have what it would take in the PL, yet Sunderland signed him anyway. Hojland's numbers are nowhere near as impressive as Altidore's, and the "eye test" is about the same for me.

Yeah this is just what I was talking about in regards to many of the fanbase doubting him

 

[Isotope]

He is starting to look like another unwanted player when I see posts like this. Clearly there is no striker target that the majority are actually going to agree on

Just need to learn more and get excited about our potential main striker. Our opinion here don't matter to the Club anyway.

Not a flashy or silky player but he does look like a functional hardworking centre forward who seems mature in his hold up play and ,overall, teamplay, though there were a fair few moments where he over hit a pass.

Highlights are always going to show the best of his hold up play, you can make Lukaku and Nunez look like good link up players if you only show their best bits. Videos of all involvements in any given game are going to give a much better picture of his level.

The problem with this signing is a I don't actually believe we'll get 2 strikers, even if that's what ETH ideally wants. We're apparently on a very very tight budget, and we really needed 2 strikers, 2 midfielders, a centre back to replace Maguire as well as a goalkeeper.

So if he's the only striker we really need him to come in and hit the ground running. Very big ask given his age and his current level.

Weghorst has shown that hardwork, being decent on hold up play and bring others are not enough. Although Hojlund is still young, has good pace, and has good goal/ minute play ratio.

So yeah. It's already a big risk, when taking striker from Serie A.

 

[croadyman]

Just need to learn more and get excited about our potential main striker. Our opinion here don't matter to the Club anyway.




Weghorst has shown that hardwork, being decent on hold up play and bring others are not enough. Although Hojlund is still young, has good pace, and has good goal/ minute play ratio.

So yeah. It's already a big risk, when taking striker from Serie A.

So what do we do that's not a risk then

 

[Doracle]

Yeah this is just what I was talking about in regards to many of the fanbase doubting him

The issue is that he’s a kid who should be coming in as back up for a top premier league team. If he was being purchased on that basis, there would be no concerns at all. He’s highly promising. The problem is that we don’t have the luxury of having him as back up - if we sign him he will have all the pressure of being the main CF immediately. It’s high risk.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Yeah this is just what I was talking about in regards to many of the fanbase doubting him

I doubt the feck out of him. We're expecting him to double his output in a much harder league.

 

[Isotope]

So what do we do that's not a risk then

At the very least, use Sir Alex' book when buying a striker. They need to prove that they're a good goalscorer, regardless of what League they come from. That's reducing the risk (as every player comes with risk, just like Weghorst with decent goalscoring record outside PL).

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

So what do we do that's not a risk then

We grab a striker who is already in the PL and we know what they can do. Ollie Watkins (15), Mitrovic (14), Moreno (13), Awoniyi (10), Isak (10), all have more than Hojland's Serie A output. If Toney wasn't banned for the half the season, I'd rather we got him. I'm not advocating we buy any of these guys, but if we're talking 60m pounds for a lottery ticket, I'd rather we had more of a known quantity. Hojland to me is like Amad Diallo, one who will need regular first team action to develop. There's no chance HoJLAND is ready to lead the line for us.

 

[In Rainbows]

He's not even scoring against the good Italian sides. Granted, he doesn't play for one of the good Italian sides, either. Does anyone remember when Jozy Altidore scored like 26 goals in the Eridivisie (AZ Alkmaar) in one season? He moved to Sunderland and scored 3. For the "eye test", Altidore clearly didn't have what it would take in the PL, yet Sunderland signed him anyway. Hojland's numbers are nowhere near as impressive as Altidore's, and the "eye test" is about the same for me.

Not that I'm disagreeing with your overall point, but Altidore is a poor comparison. Altidore was 23-24 when he moved to Sunderland. At age 20-21 he had one goal in the Turkish league.

 

[Strelok]

So what do we do that's not a risk then

Buy Kane.

 

[DJ_21]

Buy Kane.

If only we had the money too…

 

[Strelok]

If only we had the money too…

I'd rather we use some 'credit' to buy Kane for 100m than pay +60m for Hojlund.

I don't want to sound negative but this lad does remind me of Belotti. Decent but nothing special. I still remember the hype about Belotti but tbh back then I didn't see anything special in him. And Belotti had much much better stats than Hojlund I think.

40m might worth the risks and we would be able to recoup some of it if things don't go well but 60m is simply too much imo. I'd rather use that money on Kane. We all know and could be pretty sure what we could get from him.

 

[Dannn411]

It’s actually sad that we’re having to either prioritise a top ST or a top GK. we should be able to get both.

Have to sell to be able to. Our refusal to take the required loss to get rid of garbage after overpaying them is why we are having to choose. £25m-£30m for Maguire and £10m-£15m for Fred would have given us around £40m extra to work with by now.

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Not that I'm disagreeing with your overall point, but Altidore is a poor comparison. Altidore was 23-24 when he moved to Sunderland. At age 20-21 he had one goal in the Turkish league.

Altidore may very well be a bad example but it was all I could come up with. Altidore was always a donkey, the season he scored 26 was some bizarre fluke. Anyone who ever saw him play against half-decent competition knew it. All I've seen from Hojland is him scoring against bottom feeder Italian clubs. Watching him in highlight clips he's not even impressive, and those reels make everyone look good. 60m for him is pissing away money - he is not worth it, he's not demonstrated he's enough of a "prospect". I'd rather we paid 100m and had someone we know can find the back of the net.

 

[Suv666]

When I watch the clips of him scoring, his go-to move is to pause, flick the ball past the defender, and run onto it. I don't think this is a sustainable trick in the Prem. I am not seeing his movement befuddle his markers, or him creating space where there was none and carving out a shot. He's almost a textbook example of a flat track bully. I do like that he's unafraid to shoot from outside the box, and he does whip in a good cross.

The Premier is such a different beast from the leagues he's played in. Not saying Italian clubs can't pull our pants down, but on a week-in week-out basis, the intensity level difference is massive. This is who he scored against:
Monza (11th place)
Spezia Calcio (17th)
Bologna (9th)
Salternitana (15th)
Lazio (2nd) - I guess technically Lazio was good last season
Lecce (16th)
Hellas Verona (18th)
Monza (again)

He's not even scoring against the good Italian sides. Granted, he doesn't play for one of the good Italian sides, either. Does anyone remember when Jozy Altidore scored like 26 goals in the Eridivisie (AZ Alkmaar) in one season? He moved to Sunderland and scored 3. For the "eye test", Altidore clearly didn't have what it would take in the PL, yet Sunderland signed him anyway. Hojland's numbers are nowhere near as impressive as Altidore's, and the "eye test" is about the same for me.

Agree with you. People keep talking about his potential but I don’t see it. Looks quite average in youtube videos (those are supposed to make you look world class!)

 

[Wing Attack Plan R]

Hojland's goals, translated to the Prem. 7 of 9 goals were against bottom half clubs. Even Lukaku is a safer bet.

Crystal Palace = Monza (11th place)
Everton = Spezia Calcio (17th)
Brentford = Bologna (9th)
Bournemouth = Salternitana (15th)
Arsenal = Lazio (2nd)
Nottingham = Lecce (16th)
Leicester = Hellas Verona (18th)
Monza (again)

 

[zaafi]

I'd rather we use some 'credit' to buy Kane for 100m than pay +60m for Hojlund.

I don't want to sound negative but this lad does remind me of Belotti. Decent but nothing special. I still remember the hype about Belotti but tbh back then I didn't see anything special in him. And Belotti had much much better stats than Hojlund I think.

40m might worth the risks and we would be able to recoup some of it if things don't go well but 60m is simply too much imo. I'd rather use that money on Kane. We all know and could be pretty sure what we could get from him.

Belotti was not even decent and never showed the natural instincts or hold-up play that Højlund has.
Belotti was also two years older when he had his freak season where he scored 26 goals. Look away from that season, and he has never gone one season where he scored over 10 open-play goals, and he played full seasons as well (2900-3300 minutes).

At Højlund's age, Cavani was playing for Palermo and scored 5 goals in his first proper season. The two following seasons before his transfer to Napoli, he scored 14 and 13 goals respectively (full seasons). Napoli bought him when he was 23.

Lewandowski played for Lech Poznan at 20 years of age, and only scored 8 goals in his first season for Dortmund at 21.

There seems to be this idea that, after Haaland, you don't become a great striker unless you score a ridiculous amount of goals at a young age. Goals don't really matter that much at that age because they don't tell the whole story.
The important thing is showcasing the natural ability and why you potentially can score a lot of goals and Højlund certainly has done that. His movement and instincts are already brilliant and will only improve.

I wouldn't say he's ready to lead the line for us, but if we don't get him now, the alternative could be that he has a brilliant season this year and Atalanta adds another €60m to his price tag like Napoli did with Osimhen while we're stuck with some aging striker like we usually are.

 

[zaafi]

Hojland's goals, translated to the Prem. 7 of 9 goals were against bottom half clubs. Even Lukaku is a safer bet.

Crystal Palace = Monza (11th place)
Everton = Spezia Calcio (17th)
Brentford = Bologna (9th)
Bournemouth = Salternitana (15th)
Arsenal = Lazio (2nd)
Nottingham = Lecce (16th)
Leicester = Hellas Verona (18th)
Monza (again)

This is really not how you determine if a striker will become great or not.

It's hard to score against teams who dominate your team. In fact, you could use this method of yours and say the same for Osimhen, but asking the question how he hasn't scored against better teams when Napoli dominates almost all of the teams.

Højlund will have both Bruno and Mount creating for him in a team that normally dominates most teams in Premier League. This is a huge difference to playing for Atalanta in a weak team. You could argue that PL is a few levels above Serie A, but he has the physicality and abilities to adapt to the league.