Rasmus Hojlund
Rasmus Hojlund impressed on his first United start under Ruben Amorim
When Ruben Amorim left Sporting this month, he said goodbye to a striker who couldn't stop scoring. Victor Gyokeres scored 23 goals in 18 games under Amorim this season, but by swapping Lisbon for Manchester, the head coach also went from feast to famine in front of goal.
Amorim took over a side among the lowest scorers in the Premier League and early questions in his media engagements have focused on solving that. The 39-year-old is keen to unlock improvement from the existing cast, rather than turning to the transfer market and perhaps pushing for a reunion with Gyokeres.
After giving Marcus Rashford the first opportunity to lead the line at Ipswich, Amorim quickly decided against continuing that experiment. Against Bodo/Glimt he turned to a more traditional No. 9 who wears that number on his back, and he was rewarded with two goals.
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Rasmus Hojlund's 19th and 20th goals for the club completed a comeback victory in the Europa League. As well as kick-starting the Amorim era, they could also provide lift-off to the 21-year-old's second season at Old Trafford.
Hojlund was the top scorer in a disappointing campaign last year, but his 20 goals have come in 57 games, and he knows he will need to score more prolifically as time goes on. Against the Norwegian outfit, he took his goals well and provided the finishes from central positions.
Gyokeres became the master finisher Amorim wants in his system. When asked if he felt he could fulfil the same role as the Swede, Hojlund expressed confidence that he had what it took.
"I think I showed last season with being top scorer for the team that I can score my goals," he said. "I'm still very young but obviously I would like to take the responsibility and that's why I also took the number nine this year because I think I want to take the next level and the next step. But yeah, I still have a lot to grow. I'm still not the finished article. I'm only 21."
Hojlund does at least have the experience of leading the line in a 3-4-3, having done so at Atalanta, when his 10 goals in 34 games for the Italian club convinced United to pay £64m for him in 2023, with that fee potentially rising to £72m.
The Dane, who believes he has improved with his back to goal this season, was an Erik ten Hag signing but touched on how things have changed for the attackers since Amorim replaced the Dutchman, highlighting the way the team press as something that has altered significantly.
"I think the press is very different. I have to focus a little bit more only on what's in front of me instead of behind me," he said.
"I still try to do the same, but obviously we play different sort of football and system now, I've played this sort of football, I don't say it is the same, but a 3-4-3, I used to play in Atlanta a little bit the same."
Hojlund might only be up to 20 United goals but his celebrations are often eye-catching. He doesn't have a go-to celebration when he scores, but changes it regularly, and on Thursday he copied a move from a movie he had wathed recently.
"The Gladiator one. It was a good one," he said. "We watched it when we were in with the national team. And yeah, I thought it was a nice celebration. So yeah, that's why I wanted to do that."
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