It is no surprise that Manchester United are hungry for a new 'No. 9'. The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo has left a big void that Wout Weghorst could not fill.
With only 2 goals in 31 appearances, Man United has returned the Dutch striker to his home club. Therefore, Erik ten Hag only has Anthony Martial as the only player who can play as a striker. But the former Ajax manager clearly cannot trust the French striker.
Meanwhile, despite scoring more than 30 goals last season, Marcus Rashford is more suitable for the wing role. Therefore, Ten Hag really needs a quality striker.
Ten Hag's initial shortlist included Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen and Randal Kolo Muani. But Man United failed to reach a deal for Kane and Osimhen also had a very high price. His relationship with Kolo Muani has also gradually ended.
Finally, after weeks of negotiations, the "Red Devils" agreed a deal for Hojlund worth 75 million Euros plus 10 million Euros in add-ons. He is expected to sign a 5-year contract - a sign that Man United expect him to become a long-term "number 9".
Hojlund has had a breakthrough season in Serie A in 2022-2023, but is he ready for the challenge of the Theater of Dreams?
Not only possessing the ideal physique for a striker, Hojlund is also very agile and intelligent. He often develops his abilities in counter-attacks and shoots well in the box.
Hojlund is also very smart at distributing his energy. The modern striker often tends to be active but he only focuses on a certain space and find space to finish.
The Danish striker has a natural talent for discovering opportunities. In short, in theory, Hojlund is the type of striker suitable for the Premier League.
With the support of Bruno Fernandes, Rashford and Casemiro, Hojlund will have quality around-the-top satellites at Old Trafford. He is also a bit arrogant, a necessary factor to become a unique striker.
However, the rapid rise has made many people forget that Hojlund is only 20 years old. He has all the qualities to become a top striker but it takes a lot of time.
Hojlund's weakness is his instability in connecting with his teammates. He passes the ball not too impressively and his decision-making ability also needs to be improved. The Danish striker sometimes held the ball for too long and missed the attack.
Therefore, Man United must be patient with Hojlund. Ten Hag's ultimate goal is to build a team that plays a controlling role like Manchester City and Hojlund, which would be very suitable. The important thing is that he needs to improve his skills.
Hojlund's broken body and strong playing style are similar to Erling Haaland. Both became famous in the Austrian national championship.
Hojlund and Haaland are both strikers with good finishing and non-stop pressing ability. However, Hojlund has lost to Haaland in terms of the number of shots, which partly explains why the Man City striker's scoring statistics are superior.
Being called the "new Haaland" will not bring many benefits to Hojlund. The biggest question is how he will adapt at Old Trafford to the recent lessons from Antony or Jadon Sancho.
