Before joining Man United, Rasmus Hojlund played 32 games for Copenhagen but only scored 5 goals. Moving to Sturm Graz, the Danish striker only had 12 goals in 21 games. Then, when he joined Atalanta, Hojlund had 10 goals in 34 games. How could a striker with such modest stats have a transfer value of up to 64 million pounds?
The answer lies in the agency that represents Hojlund. Before arriving at Old Trafford, the Danish striker was signed by the same agency as his coach Erik ten Hag.
Before signing Hojlund, Man United were pursuing Harry Kane. Kane is 10 years older than Hojlund but has a top-class record in Europe. The switch from Kane to Hojlund, at this point, Man United fans are starting to see something suspicious.
Man United had set a limit of not spending more than 60 million pounds for Hojlund. When they first approached this striker, the price only fluctuated between 20-30 million pounds. Sharing with the Manchester Evening News, the intermediaries who later negotiated between Atalanta and Man United admitted they felt embarrassed.
When Man United approached Hojlund, Ten Hag "bragged" very loudly about this striker. According to the Dutch strategist, Hojlund is very agile, intelligent, strong and has the ability to penetrate the opponent's penalty area. Ten Hag used the example of Hojlund's goals scored for the Danish team to sell to the team's owners.
Before arriving at Old Trafford, Hojlund scored 6 goals in his first 6 matches for the Danish national team. After becoming a "Red Devil", he only scored 1 goal in the next 16 matches for the former EURO 1992 champion. In his last 12 appearances for the national team, Hojlund also failed to score.
Ten Hag once said Hojlund could lead Man United's attack in the 2024-2025 season, but the results showed that this young striker only scored an average of 1 goal after every 4 matches played, a very disappointing number.
Back to the transfer company. Just 1 day before Hojlund joined Man United, he joined SEG International. This is the company that Ten Hag is a member of. The question now is whether Ten Hag will "suck" anything from the Hojlund deal to Man United when he "exploded" without basis about this striker and made the team regret?
As of round 23, Newcastle's Alexander Isak has 17 goals, ranking 3rd in the list of top scorers. The Swedish striker is only behind Mohamed Salah (19) and Erling Haaland (18) in this race. Remember, Hojlund has a transfer fee 11 million Euros higher than Isak but has only scored 2 goals in the Premier League since the beginning of the season.
After Erik ten Hag was sacked, Ruben Amorim took over the hot seat with a mess at Old Trafford. The Portuguese tactician never put his faith in Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee (who Ten Hag brought in for £108.5 million). The only plus point for these two stars is their spirit of play, especially Hojlund. In terms of ability, they are only average compared to the average strikers playing in the Premier League.
In terms of attitude and behavior, this couple is also rated quite well. Hojlund has reduced his social media posts and hired a trusted person to manage the accounts. The young Danish star once had an inappropriate post after Man United drew 3-3 with FC Porto in the Europa League. Avoiding appearing on social media will partly help Hojlund focus on improving. Otherwise, he will "disappear" from Old Trafford.
