Rasmus Hojlund’s form has led to criticism of the young forward, but Gary Neville has sympathy for the young Manchester United forward.
It is a difficult task for any striker to lead the line for Manchester United which is why there has been transfer speculation regarding recruits.
Rasmus Hojlund has struggled since joining United, even more so in his second season, and Joshua Zirkzee hasn’t provided the goals either.
United lost on penalties against Fulham to crash out of the FA Cup last weekend and it was another game that saw our strikers fail to score. United’s only goal came from Bruno Fernandes, which led to the game going to penalties after extra time.
Ruben Amorim gave minutes to United academy prospect Chido Obi, who is expected to push Hojlund for a place in the team.
Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Garry Neville worried about Rasmus Hojlund
Former United captain Gary Neville was at Old Trafford as a fan on Sunday to watch United crash out of the FA Cup.
Neville believes there was a sense of ‘relief’ in the stadium when Hojlund went off. He also said Hojlund’s 18-game goal drought is a big worry and he feels the striker is shot of confidence at the moment.
“I thought Manchester United would have a scare but get through against Fulham,” Neville told The Overlap US.
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“They’ve got injuries which are a factor but the balance of the team is wrong. They’ve got no pace up front. They started with Hojlund, Zirkzee and Eriksen.
“Hojlund had a really difficult game, it was a worry. That was my biggest takeaway from the game, there’s a lad that now hasn’t scored in 18 games.
“I have to say I think he’s got a bit of talent and has something physically. But he’s shot at the moment and he’s really struggling. It’s sad.
“You could see when he was subbed off, there was almost a relief in the stadium because the fans knew he had to come off.
“But then again, what chance has Hojlund got with Zirkzee and Eriksen behind him? They haven’t got attacking full-backs either.”
The FA Cup exit means the only trophy United can win this season is the Europa League and they’ll need Hojlund back scoring goals to achieve that.
What’s next for Hojlund?
Hojlund is expected to start for United against Real Sociedad in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The Denmark international has scored five goals in the Europa League this season and will be looking to add to his tally.
Hojlund is under severe pressure but the only way to lift that is by scoring goals. As a centre-forward, he knows that better than anyone else.
The next Premier League outing for Hojlund is against Arsenal on Sunday.