Rasmus Højlund | Signed for United

[Rhyme Animal]

Errrm he did exactly that with Rooney

If you think what Rooney had shown (in the PL and at a high International level) when he signed for Utd (at 18) is comparable in any way with
what Højlund has shown thus far at 20 you either weren’t actually a football fan back then, or are in for a very rude awakening…

Rooney was a clear generational talent with the expectancy that he’d go on to be a balon dor type level player.

He was vastly superior to Højlund in literally every single area and please note - that is not a slight upon Højlund, it’s just the truth.

The two shouldn’t be compared, it’s not fair on Højlund. As with the daft and insulting comparisons with RvN I’ve seen in here.

Better to compare him with a Hernández or at best a Solskjaer as this, it seems, is more his ceiling as a player - and absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The criticism / wariness is - do you want to spend £65m on a Hernández? Or wait until a better option presents itself?

 

[Idxomer]

Revisionist BS would be people who look at the amount of goals Weghorst ended up with and completely negate any positive impact having an industrious centre forward had for the team. There is a reason he was continually picked and a reason we had decent results with him.

I don't know how anyone could disagree that Weghorst fed off of scraps. Our wingers constantly cut in and take shots, or lay the ball off for midfielders. The two goals he scored for us were rebounds! He didn't miss many big chances at all. But I'm not here to argue about Weghorst, he wasn't good enough and he isn't here anymore.

I remember Gary Neville saying Weghorst was a "placeholder" for United's next striker and I think Hojlund is the upgraded model, with added pace and bags of potential. However like Weghorst I expect him to be a cog in the system and not the focus of the system, until he proves he can be more than that.

He had very little impact and our results with him weren't very good, especially in the league. He started 10 league games, we got 12 points in them. If he kept starting in our last 10 games, we were gonna lose top 4 to Liverpool. Thankfully, Ten Hag stopped that experiment before it was too late. Weghorst was feeding off scraps because he's a horrible striker for a top team and was usually too slow to be in the right place.

 

[JPRouve]

Great video again. His poor aerial ability in terms of fighting for long balls is a bit worrying. One reason Inter were so good with Onana is their forwards could utilise his long passing so well. Although that feels like it’s something that can be taught/learnt. He just needs to commit a bit more.

Great video but I'm about to report @Raees for advertising himself.

 

[Judas]

He's not ready to lead the line for us yet so once again we'll be relying mostly on Rashford and Martial this season. I wish we signing a more experienced striker too.

We’re not going to be relying on Martial because we’re not stupid.

 

[Syphon Wallet]

Honestly sick of these edging updates, the only proper update at this point is feee agreed.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

I mean... what were Nani and Anderson?

They weren’t CFs.

And if Højlund has a Utd career as good as Nani’s I’ll be very happy as Nani was an underrated player and very talented.

Anderson was MF, and if I ever post praising SAF’s overall ability to sign MFers, please, slap me.

 

[bosnian_red]

Great video again. His poor aerial ability in terms of fighting for long balls is a bit worrying. One reason Inter were so good with Onana is their forwards could utilise his long passing so well. Although that feels like it’s something that can be taught/learnt. He just needs to commit a bit more.

Very different to what we have currently though is he is actively willing and capable of posting up on defenders essentially, pinning them to receive the ball. Winning aerial duels will come with time, but he can pin them and receive the ball on his chest or his feet and make it stick.

Guys like Dzeko didn't have those abilities from day 1, and while Hojlund probably won't get to dzekos level when it comes to that hold up/receiving long balls, there is a lot of development that happens there. He's only 20. Of course he's raw. Qualities are there to develop and I'd expect we see fast progression from him, just like he's already progressed quickly at Atalanta.

 

[Minor Threat]

From what I’ve seen of the kid while far from the finished product he definitely looks like he has the potential to develop into a world class striker.

I’d hope that maybe the plan is that ETH will keep Rashford in no 9 for the time being especially with how proficient he was last season and put Rasmus in more of a wider position to gain more experience and develop, rather than just immediately throwing him up front and hoping he bangs them in for fun.

 

[Judas]

I think he’s a very exciting signing, the price is fine too. Do I think he’s the second coming? No. I really think he’s far from a guaranteed, but it’s another signing that should really impact how we play.

 

[Bebestation]

Link up play & pressing seems his best assets with need for improvement on finishing.

 

[Red in STL]

They weren’t CFs.

And if Højlund has a Utd career as good as Nani’s I’ll be very happy as Nani was an underrated player and very talented.

Anderson was MF, and if I ever post praising SAF’s overall ability to sign MFers, please, slap me.

TBF he signed some pretty good ones, Ince and Keane for starters, Carrick and Phelan weren't too shabby

 

[zaafi]

If you think what Rooney had shown (in the PL and at a high International level) when he signed for Utd (at 18) is comparable in any way with
what Højlund has shown thus far at 20 you either weren’t actually a football fan back then, or are in for a very rude awakening…

Rooney was a clear generational talent with the expectancy that he’d go on to be a balon dor type level player.

He was vastly superior to Højlund in literally every single area and please note - that is not a slight upon Højlund, it’s just the truth.

The two shouldn’t be compared, it’s not fair on Højlund. As with the daft and insulting comparisons with RvN I’ve seen in here.

Better to compare him with a Hernández or at best a Solskjaer as this, it seems, is more his ceiling as a player - and absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The criticism / wariness is - do you want to spend £65m on a Hernández? Or wait until a better option presents itself?

I agree with everything except the part about his ceiling being the level of Hernandez. You're assuming that will be his level, when he has the complete package to potentially be a very successful striker. It is very likely he will be a much better striker than Hernandez.

If Ten Hag believed that was his level, he wouldn't have bought him for €70m.

And how long are we going to wait for that "better option"? 2 years? 3?
And how good do you have to be to be considered a better option?

Højlund is one of highest rated young strikers at the moment. We're paying too much for them, but that's the market we're in, especially when Atalanta are a club that competes and not really a selling club. He was also going to be Zapata and Muriel's successor, so they're just not going to let him go cheap.

 

[bosnian_red]

0 minutes for him today, surely going 5o be sealed soon. Shame it's taken us so long, would've been good for him to have the full pre season, but I guess he'll be signed by the end of the week and he'll have a week of training before the start of the PL season with us.

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

Looks a prospect, but there's no way we're challenging for the league with him as our starting CF for at least a couple of years. I hope he's not the only incoming striker, because we need two.

 

[Stig]

Man United: Reporter reveals exciting Hojlund news he's "hearing"


Hearing. Well, there's a new category.

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

Hearing FC

 

[Rhyme Animal]

TBF he signed some pretty good ones, Ince and Keane for starters, Carrick and Phelan weren't too shabby

That’s over a 26 year tenure… he made some shockers in that time and it was clearly his one weakness in squad assembly.

His ability to assemble defences and attacks though is now, imo, vastly underrated during the current Love-in of Guardiola and recently bias.

SAF was the master and his defences and attacks were superior to every modern day team imo.

 

[Tarrou]

To be honest, he left the club in a shambles and didn't bother replacing the midfield

nonsense, we walked the league is his final season

and we had a world class midfielder lined up which Moyes rejected and got Fellaini instead

 

[Zen]

They weren’t CFs.

And if Højlund has a Utd career as good as Nani’s I’ll be very happy as Nani was an underrated player and very talented.

Anderson was MF, and if I ever post praising SAF’s overall ability to sign MFers, please, slap me.

Yeah and you didn't say that.... you just said a guy at this point in their careers. Which they are comparable, it's quite hard to find comparable for a direct striker, because there were far more strikers available so the market just wasn't as sparse, and there's more intangibles, fecking loads has changed in the 10 years since Fergie has retired. But there's plenty to suggest he'd be behind this kind of deal.... I mean favouring 3 deals that work for a better system (on paper) over potentially just Kane.... yeah I could also buy going that way too, he was a stubborn fecker at times.

 

[OrcaFat]

I’m trying to get excited and I just found his Finland game, looked amazing there, the movement for the first goal especially was amazing and something not seen by a United striker since probably RVP. What a difference to a statue Martial he will be. For those who haven’t seen this highlights yet:

He looks really good in that video. He gets involved a little deeper sometimes but his first thought after linking up is to get himself forward and into dangerous areas and he puts the full burners on to do it. No jogging forward while he admires his passes. He’s got a striker’s nose for where the goals are. He is a little rough around the edges but I think he’ll improve quickly when he gets here. Will start most matches imo.

 

[Mickson]

Looks a prospect, but there's no way we're challenging for the league with him as our starting CF for at least a couple of years. I hope he's not the only incoming striker, because we need two.

We wouldn't be challenging this season anyway, so?

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

We wouldn't be challenging this season anyway, so?

Nah. Unless we signed Kane, then we might've had a chance.

 

[dannyrhinos89]

I’m still a little unconvinced, I can see why Erik wants him but I certainly don’t think he’s ready to become our main striker and somebody we rely on for goals.

 

[Champ]

City create a lot of chances by controlling possession and moving the ball from right to left and vice versa, this is massively helped by having a goalkeeper who can play out from the back. They also exploit gaps made by the possession by having a goalkeeper with superb long distribution. ETH wants us to be press monsters and obviously has an eye on keeping more possession when we have the ball, add the two together and we’re definitely in a far better position than last season.

I'm am not debating that at all.

I'm merely saying that playing out from the back has little impact on pressing from the front and forcing errors higher up the pitch and vice versa.

United created a bucket load of chances that were missed, that's despite not keeping possession as much as the clubs in the the top 5, having a bona fide striker will help in finishing these chances no end, especially considering we now can add Mount and a ball playing keeper to the equation.

 

[zaafi]

nonsense, we walked the league is his final season

and we had a world class midfielder lined up which Moyes rejected and got Fellaini instead

Take a look at that squad and tell me that's a squad for the next years.

 

[Marcus]

He looks great as a striker to hold up play and then lay the ball off to our other players. Maybe that's what we need. He does not look that deadly with his finishing, but definitely an exciting prospect. Will be a great watch.

 

[OrcaFat]

He's not ready to lead the line for us yet so once again we'll be relying mostly on Rashford and Martial this season. I wish we signing a more experienced striker too.

I know what you mean but I think he will do better than logic would suggest. For a start he will be one of only a few options and so will get plenty of minutes in the first few games. Once he’s settled I think he’ll be leading the line, ready or not. And if he’s doing it, he’s ready, in one sense at least.

 

[Rhyme Animal]

I agree with everything except the part about his ceiling being the level of Hernandez. You're assuming that will be his level, when he has the complete package to potentially be a very successful striker. It is very likely he will be a much better striker than Hernandez.

Genuine question - what is it, specifically, that leads you to believe Højlund will become a ‘much better striker than Hernández’?

What are you seeing that leads you to state that?

I’d say let’s wait and see before we go making such claims and putting down Hernández.

Chicarito’s first season he got 13 PL goals and he was a very good pure striker with what seems to me, better finishing than Højlund and a better touch…

He was also a back up player, whereas Højlund will be the starting CF it likely seems.

 

[OrcaFat]

I’m still a little unconvinced, I can see why Erik wants him but I certainly don’t think he’s ready to become our main striker and somebody we rely on for goals.

Yeah, the bottom line of “how many goals will he score?” is important and perhaps the main concern because his finishing is a little rustic, let’s say. But I do think he will have a big impact on how many goals the team is able to score.

 

[sullydnl]

Looks a prospect, but there's no way we're challenging for the league with him as our starting CF for at least a couple of years. I hope he's not the only incoming striker, because we need two.

We were never likely to challenge for the league this year regardless of who we signed.

But looking beyond this season, saying there's "no way" we could challenge next season with Hojlund is silly. Even if Hojlund is "just" returning PL goals in 24/25 at the same rate he was in Serie A in 22/23, he'll still be scoring at a rate on par or better than Jesus and Nketiah, the two CFs of last season's title-challenging Arsenal side. And it's not at all impossible that he develops better than that.

 

[saik]

Surprisingly my first post in this thread but it's very obvious to see why Ten Hag wants this guy. I mean if you look at all the strikers we have been linked with since he took over at Man Utd there's a common theme. Arnautovic, Sesko, Weghorst(who he got on loan), Hojlund, all of them tall strikers who can hold the ball up although Weghorst turned out to be pretty shit. Even at Ajax he used Haller. Ten Hag surely likes his tall guy upfront.

If he can do with Hojlund what he did with Haller at Ajax, there won't be any complaints with the fee we've spent.

 

[Glorio]

Genuine question - what is it, specifically, that leads you to believe Højlund will become a ‘much better striker than Hernández’?

What are you seeing that leads you to state that?

I’d say let’s wait and see before we go making such claims and putting down Hernández.

Chicarito’s first season he got 13 PL goals and he was a very good pure striker with what seems to me, better finishing than Højlund and a better touch…

He was also a back up player, whereas Højlund will be the starting CF it likely seems.

Don't know about 'much better' but his physicality, size, and ability to move with the ball give him an edge.

Chicha though was deadly as anyone in terms of movement and finishing.

 

[HookedOnAPhelan]

We were never likely to challenge for the league this year regardless of who we signed.

But looking beyond this season, saying there's "no way" we could challenge next season with Hojlund is silly. Even if Hojlund is "just" returning PL goals in 24/25 at the same rate he was in Serie A in 22/23, he'll still be scoring at a rate on par or better than Jesus and Nketiah, the two CFs of last season's title-challenging Arsenal side. And it's not at all impossible that he develops better than that.

True, fair enough.

I do like the look of him though, even if he seems a bit raw (unsuprisingly at 20), and I trust Ten Hag's judgment.

 

[Blood Mage]

I’m trying to get excited and I just found his Finland game, looked amazing there, the movement for the first goal especially was amazing and something not seen by a United striker since probably RVP. What a difference to a statue Martial he will be. For those who haven’t seen this highlights yet:

Wow he must be godly to beat a team with Antman in it, how would you even pick up his runs?

 

[kaku06]

Man United: Reporter reveals exciting Hojlund news he's "hearing"


Hearing. Well, there's a new category.

A new category indeed Can someone make a list of all the categories the media use for us in the transfer window? Got to be more than atleast 10. Surely?

 

[zaafi]

Genuine question - what is it, specifically, that leads you to believe Højlund will become a ‘much better striker than Hernández’?

What are you seeing that leads you to state that?

I’d say let’s wait and see before we go making such claims and putting down Hernández.

Chicarito’s first season he got 13 PL goals and he was a very good pure striker with what seems to me, better finishing than Højlund and a better touch…

He was also a back up player, whereas Højlund will be the starting CF it likely seems.

He has incredible movement for a 20 year old and the natural instincts in the box, almost Cavani-like. It's a very rare ability, even in strikers. He is very strong and quick and a thunderous shot. His hold-up play is pretty good and similarly to Kane, he uses his body very well making it difficult for defenders to get the ball from him.

Of course he is raw, and needs to improve aspects of his game but he is already pretty good at 20, and will only get better.

For the record, Michu scored 18 PL goals in his first season, but it doesn't make him a very good striker. Chicharito was a good striker, but had very clear deficiencies and was never going to be world class.

 

[RedC]

Weren't we supposed to turn the page this summer and start being sensible/not overpay for players? I thought I read that somewhere at the start of the summer.

Three signings later and I fail to see what's different. We're being bent over and fecked like always.

Wages were the main thing we needed to stop overspending on, and I think we've done a good job of that with Onana and Hojlund. Mount was always going to be pricey in that regard.

 

[golden_blunder]

Bet you'd be the first to complain if he did indeed end up go to a lower club and we had to fork out over 100m later for him...

This forum has nothing but people who whine, moan and complain about everything United do, they simply can't win.

It’s the same posters every summer too

 

[Dazzmondo]

Hoping he can reach at least 15 goals and 10 PL goals. If he manages more than that it would be great

 

[Blood Mage]

Bet you'd be the first to complain if he did indeed end up go to a lower club and we had to fork out over 100m later for him...

This forum has nothing but people who whine, moan and complain about everything United do, they simply can't win.

It's been a rough decade mate with some very strange decisions made both on and off the pitch (admittedly mainly during the Woodward era).