Rasmus Højlund | Signed for United

[Wing Attack Plan R]

https://fbref.com/en/players/21a66f6a/Harry-Kane
https://fbref.com/en/players/8c90fd7a/Victor-Osimhen

Lukaku is in 9th to being similar to Kane. That’s as bad as anything the Athletic came up with.

 

[Redcy]

Lukaku is in 9th to being similar to Kane. That’s as bad as anything the Athletic came up with.

So we agree both lists are tripe then? I’m looking down those lists and asking where the actual quality players are.

 

[Redcy]

At least fbref is closer in there 10 and has some players who don’t sound insane comparisons

 

[Siorac]

He also plays for a much more attacking, direct and dominating team as opposed to Atalanta.

Atalanta are very much an attacking team. They only scored six fewer goals than Brighton though they are much less of a possession team, admittedly.

By the way, there's something I found interesting.

Evan Ferguson: born on October 19.
Rasmus Hojlund: born on February 4 in the previous year.

Wayne Rooney: born on October 24.
Cristiano Ronaldo: born on February 5 in the previous year.

Basically we should buy both Ferguson and Hojlund, it's written in the stars.

 

[Giggsy13]

@redshaw Here's the sprint vs Lazio.

Yes but what a terrible finish

 

[Gandalf]

Atalanta are very much an attacking team. They only scored six fewer goals than Brighton though they are much less of a possession team, admittedly.

By the way, there's something I found interesting.

Evan Ferguson: born on October 19.
Rasmus Hojlund: born on February 4 in the previous year.

Wayne Rooney: born on October 24.
Cristiano Ronaldo: born on February 5 in the previous year.

Basically we should buy both Ferguson and Hojlund, it's written in the stars.

That is the dream, Hojlund in 23, Ferguson in 24. Brighton won't sell him this summer but next summer he would be available based on their cpmments so far. We could have 2 solid options locked up for the next decade if we play this right.

 

[DJ_21]

How many goals a season do we think he’s capable of getting?

 

[ROFLUTION]

That is the dream, Hojlund in 23, Ferguson in 24. Brighton won't sell him this summer but next summer he would be available based on their cpmments so far. We could have 2 solid options locked up for the next decade if we play this right.

Please revisit this post at that time. Could also be new Ballotti's or one of them playing in Championship fading into nothing.

 

[zaafi]

How many goals a season do we think he’s capable of getting?

If he's our main striker then around 14 PL goals would be a very good first season for him. I think he is capable of scoring more if Bruno has a similar season like the 22/23 one in terms of creating chances.
Adding Mount is only going to make us more creative, so I genuinely think 14-16 goals is in reach for Højlund.

 

[Alemar]

If he's our main striker then around 14 PL goals would be a very good first season for him. I think he is capable of scoring more if Bruno has a similar season like the 22/23 one in terms of creating chances.
Adding Mount is only going to make us more creative, so I genuinely think 14-16 goals is in reach for Højlund.

I believe goals in all competitions are more important. So the target should be at least 20

 

[Welbeckham]

By the way, there's something I found interesting.

Evan Ferguson: born on October 19.
Rasmus Hojlund: born on February 4 in the previous year.

Wayne Rooney: born on October 24.
Cristiano Ronaldo: born on February 5 in the previous year.

As interesting as this was, Rooney and Ronaldo were both born in 1985.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

As interesting as this was, Rooney and Ronaldo were both born in 1985.

And it wasn't even interesting to start with.

 

[Siorac]

As interesting as this was, Rooney and Ronaldo were both born in 1985.

Shite. Can we retcon it somehow? Get Ronaldo to change his birth certificate for a massive amount of money?

(I kinda mixed it up with us signing Ronaldo a year earlier than Rooney)

 

[Andycoleno9]

+1, would love to hear more from someone who has seen more than his highlights.

I know nothing about this fella, but 95% of his good touches in the highlight reels are on his left foot. Is he really that limited on his right?

Same here. Didn't watch him at all but based on highlights, he reminds me on Antony regarding using right foot. He barely use it. For no9 that is a big flaw because striker often doesn't have time and space to switch ball on stronger foot.

 

[lex talionis]

How many goals a season do we think he’s capable of getting?

Realistically, probably no more than 10 in all comps. It's going to take time for Rasmus to adjust the manic pace of the PL and it's no sure thing that ETH will start him on a regular basis until we're well into the season. I endorse the signing of Hojlund, but if he and only he is our big summer striker signing our total goal production in 23/24 is not going to improve that much unless Sancho and Antony can find the gear that was missing all last season.

 

[ROFLUTION]

Realistically, probably no more than 10 in all comps. It's going to take time for Rasmus to adjust the manic pace of the PL and it's no sure thing that ETH will start him on a regular basis until we're well into the season. I endorse the signing of Hojlund, but if he and only he is our big summer striker signing our total goal production in 23/24 is not going to improve that much unless Sancho and Antony can find the gear that was missing all last season.

He’s quite alright in his link up play, so at least if it’s only 10 goals he might add something to Rashford or Antony. But yeah when Højlund is not firing, it might be Rashford on top and trying out Garnacho on left wing. Højlund wont be developed before 2-3 seasons imo.

 

[resimad7]

I think he would be a sensational signing. It’s his athleticism and strength that does it for me. Built for the Prem and I’m sure he would add a bucket of goals to his game with the way Ten Hag is setting us up with Mount and Bruno. Genuinely buzzing for this one if we can pull it off.

 

[Red Shorts]

9 league goals in 32 games last season doesn't scream "£80m signing" . Sounds like a big gamble, even if he is a young prospect.

 

[Levi1]

9 league goals in 32 games last season doesn't scream "£80m signing" . Sounds like a big gamble, even if he is a young prospect.

Agreed. If he's that good, he'll show it this season, after which, he can't possibly cost much more than 80 million anyway. The price is just too high

 

[MackRobinson]

This is funny. I mean, what does a special striker look like at the age of 20? You want him to play like Ronaldo, and if he doesn't then he's not special?

As @JPRouve already pointed out: if you look above average as a 20 year old striker, you're doing great.

Nothing special = an elite striker

Nobody is doubting his potential, but he doesn't look like the finished product. I'm not so sure what's controversial about that.

 

[MackRobinson]

What are the examples of an “elite striker” in your book, apart from Kane, Mbappe, Benzema, Lewandowski and Osimhen?

You just answered your own question. Not sure why I would exclude the elite strikers from the example of elite strikers.

 

[resimad7]

I highly doubt it.

Jesus Christ. Negative Nelly much? The kid is absolute raw talent and has some fantastic attributes. Why are you so quick to write the lad off? Is it because he isn’t Kane, Osimhen or Mbappe?

 

[MackRobinson]

9 league goals in 32 games last season doesn't scream "£80m signing" . Sounds like a big gamble, even if he is a young prospect.

Somehow this is a controversial statement. It's clearly a huge gamble.

 

[resimad7]

Doesn’t half make me chuckle the attitude of some people in here. Is it so bad that we’re going after a raw talent that has awesome potential and solid attributes? We get slated every season for only scouting “ready made players”. Look at the players we’ve missed out on just because they weren’t “established” or “ready made”…Caicedo being the most recent.

What happens if a team like Brighton or Villa snap up Hojlund and turn him in to a monster, we go back in for him for 100m?

 

[OverratedOpinion]

He’s quite alright in his link up play, so at least if it’s only 10 goals he might add something to Rashford or Antony. But yeah when Højlund is not firing, it might be Rashford on top and trying out Garnacho on left wing. Højlund wont be developed before 2-3 seasons imo.

Just all seems really underwhelming to me. Martial scored 9 goals last season.

 

[Salt Bailly]

9 league goals in 32 games last season doesn't scream "£80m signing" . Sounds like a big gamble, even if he is a young prospect.

Not all starts. He has 0.44 gpg I think. Ferguson has 0.57.

 

[city-puma]

Atalanta are very much an attacking team. They only scored six fewer goals than Brighton though they are much less of a possession team, admittedly.

By the way, there's something I found interesting.

Evan Ferguson: born on October 19.
Rasmus Hojlund: born on February 4 in the previous year.

Wayne Rooney: born on October 24.
Cristiano Ronaldo: born on February 5 in the previous year.

Basically we should buy both Ferguson and Hojlund, it's written in the stars.

I like the idea! For me, Ferguson is a real deal.

 

[Andycoleno9]

This is funny. I mean, what does a special striker look like at the age of 20? You want him to play like Ronaldo, and if he doesn't then he's not special?

As @JPRouve already pointed out: if you look above average as a 20 year old striker, you're doing great.

That is a big spin there. Who cares how he is doing comparing with other 20 years old strikers? Do we must sign striker who is 20 years old?
We need a striker and that is our priority this summer. Why gamble on 20y old striker with average stats? And his stats are average no matter how you spin it.
Yes, he looks like a striker with big potential and it would be good to have him as a backup striker instead of Martial. But now we need a proven striker. Our whole attack is young. We don't need another kid in attack. We need 20+ goals striker who will also help other young players to develop.

Who is that striker? I don't know. I am not DoF or head of scouts. But i know that spending 50 or 60 million on Hojlund would be mad in our position (unless we have budget for two strikers).

 

[Red Shorts]

Not all starts. He has 0.44 gpg I think. Ferguson has 0.57.

I appreciate that, which also adds further questions of the fee, for someone who wasn't considered a regular starter at his current club?

I may be missing something here, but I don't even know how likely this transfer even is anyway.

 

[Bojan Djordjic]

That is a big spin there. Who cares how he is doing comparing with other 20 years old strikers? Do we must sign striker who is 20 years old?
We need a striker and that is our priority this summer. Why gamble on 20y old striker with average stats? And his stats are average no matter how you spin it.
Yes, he looks like a striker with big potential and it would be good to have him as a backup striker instead of Martial. But now we need a proven striker. Our whole attack is young. We don't need another kid in attack. We need 20+ goals striker who will also help other young players to develop.

Who is that striker? I don't know. I am not DoF or head of scouts. But i know that spending 50 or 60 million on Hojlund would be mad in our position (unless we have budget for two strikers).

We are not going to win a major competition (league or CL for the purposes of my argument) this season so we need to focus on consolidating top four this season, getting out of CL groups and recruit and bed in a striker with a long term future at the club so that we can start building a squad to mount a challenge in the next couple of seasons. I think Hojlund can contribute to those aims. Looks very promising but will probably also be able to chip in with 10-15 goals next season which isn't too bad if Rashford, Mount, Bruno and Antony can all match their expected goals and our pressing and build up improves as a result of other personnel changes. His movement looks decent and could be a monster on the counter with his pace and power.

However, I do think the price point is important and at 50/60mn it would be getting to the point where the risk and opportunity costs elsewhere are to great to warrant the move.

 

[Chief123]

How many goals a season do we think he’s capable of getting?

If he gets 1, that’s an improvement on Weghorst.

 

[bosnian_red]

How many goals a season do we think he’s capable of getting?

First season, probably 10-15 I'd be happy with. He's young, and only had 1 season at a high level where he only broke through as a starter in the 2nd half of the season. He's had a rapid rise, but Rashford will still be the main scorer.

Keep in mind.. 10-15 goals is more than doubling the output of what our CFs managed last season.

 

[Red00012]

SJ will have Ferguson here next season provided he has a good season. Hojlund is overvalued and overrated

 

[Andycoleno9]

We are not going to win a major competition (league or CL for the purposes of my argument) this season so we need to focus on consolidating top four this season, getting out of CL groups and recruit and bed in a striker with a long term future at the club so that we can start building a squad to mount a challenge in the next couple of seasons. I think Hojlund can contribute to those aims. Looks very promising but will probably also be able to chip in with 10-15 goals next season which isn't too bad if Rashford, Mount, Bruno and Antony can all match their expected goals and our pressing and build up improves as a result of other personnel changes. His movement looks decent and could be a monster on the counter with his pace and power.

However, I do think the price point is important and at 50/60mn it would be getting to the point where the risk and opportunity costs elsewhere are to great to warrant the move.

Finishing 4th without proper striker will not be that easy.
And i disagree that we should build a team which will challenge for trophies after 2 or 3 seasons. Some of our key players (Varane, Casemiro, Bruno, Eriksen) are around 30 and in their prime. Alongside Mount and Onana(?), striker would be final piece in this team.

 

[Rozay]

If he's our main striker then around 14 PL goals would be a very good first season for him. I think he is capable of scoring more if Bruno has a similar season like the 22/23 one in terms of creating chances.
Adding Mount is only going to make us more creative, so I genuinely think 14-16 goals is in reach for Højlund.

The totals are a bit misleading anyway. Almost every high goalscoring (20+ league goals) player in the PL (probably ever) is also their team’s designated penalty taker. The penalty taker at a top team should have somewhere between 4 and 7 goals just from the spot. Martial scoring I think 19 league goals in 2020 as a non pen taker (we shared them around a bit before Bruno joined halfway, and I remember him missing one) is really equivalent to a 25 goal season in most cases.

14 league goals from a non PK taker is actually a very impressive season, and probably equivalent to a 20 goal season from a pen taker.

 

[The Cat]

Sick to death of stats. Can he build play? Yes. Will he score goals? Yes. Is he gonna miss less games than Martial? Yes. Is there a massive upside to him? Yes.

Get him signed.

 

[Rozay]

I suspect the reason we are (if we are) prioritising Hojland over Kolo Muani is because we still have every intention of also moving for Kane later in the window

 

[arthurka]

He will score 15 goals at least the first season.

 

[sullydnl]

Hojlund has scored 0.44 non-penalty goals per 90 in Serie A this season.

For context, here's how that would have fit in among some other PL players this season:

Isak - 0.47
Salah - 0.47
Mitrovic - 0.45
Jesus - 0.44
Hojlund - 0.44
Gakpo - 0.43
Toney - 0.40
Watkins 0.40

Personally I think if he just carried that rate across to the PL it would be an excellent starting point for a 20/21 year old CF, provided he offers enough in general play too.

 

[Grande]

Some of the quotes I've read about him from footballers/managers are astonishing. Obviously they are going to be aware of young special talents but it really is quite exciting to go after a player where legends of the game have so much to say about him so early on in his career.


Gian Piero Gasperini:
'One day I will tell my grandchildren that I trained Rasmus Højlund. With Rasmus you have to speak to him in small doses and listen carefully to the little that he says. Don't write about him, don't try to understand how he does it, just watch him.'

Xavi Hernández:
'It's clear that Højlund is a distinct level above the rest. Those that don't know how to see it are blind.'

Arsène Wenger:
'Højlund is a footballer from a Play Station game. Things that are impossible to do, he makes them possible.'

Zlatan Ibrahimović:
'I already know which footballer will take my place and his name is Rasmus Højlund. He has something different to all other footballers. He is a leader that is an example to everyone.'

Peter Schmeichel:
'Højlund is the Mozart of football.'

Roberto Mancini:
'Every time we watch Rasmus play, we remember the days of playing football in the playground at school, a flashback in time.'

Michael Laudrup:
'I thank God every day that Højlund is Danish.'

You have him confused with Swedish 18 year old striker Ingmar Häulånd.

In the words of Douglas Adams: ‘There’s a Frogstar Fighter class C out looking for you’