Boil it down to the raw numbers and 13 goals in 54 Premier League games is a poor return on a fee of £64million, with a further £8million in possible add-ons. Nobody can currently claim that Rasmus Hojlund has been good value for Manchester United.
The 22-year-old also remains a bafflingly inconsistent striker. After scoring against Leicester City and then coming on to score for Denmark against Portugal, there was hope a corner had been turned. His goal earned him a start in the second leg of that Nations League quarter-final, but he was withdrawn just after the 70-minute mark and criticised for his performance in Danish media.
Now, he will return to Carrington and hope that, after ending his 21-game drought for his club, he can finally see his fortunes change permanently at [United](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/manchester-united-fc). He will also know that he is under pressure for the rest of this season, with a striker near the top of Ruben Amorim's summer wishlist.
Whether that is Viktor Gyokeres, Victor Osimhen or someone else, they will likely usurp [Hojlund](https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/all-about/rasmus-hojlund) in the pecking order next season. He might have No. 9 on his back, but unless he ends the season in a blitz of goals, he is likely to be playing second fiddle to someone else come August.
Hojlund has even been linked with a move away from Old Trafford, potentially as a makeweight in a deal to sign Osimhen from Napoli, but at the moment, United wouldn't get close to making their money back on what was a risky investment nearly two years ago.
But there is also a reason they might not be willing to give up on him just yet. On paper, his league return is poor, but it could be worse. His 13 goals have come from an xG tally of 10.6, according to stats platform fbref. That is an overperformance of the numbers that suggests finishing isn't really the issue here.
It's something former United striker Danny Webber picked up on recently, talking to Inside United magazine.
“If you look at the goals he’s scored since he’s been at United, most of them are strikers’ goals when he’s in and around 12 yards from goal, with one and two touches in the box," said Webber.
"If we can get him in those positions, I think he will finish chances. I like his endeavour; he’s up for the scrap, which is a prerequisite, and something you want from your forwards and all of your players.”
"In the box his finishing is sublime, his one-touch and two-touch finishes. He knows how to manoeuvre the ball, which is something you need as a striker. There are many people that play in that position who don’t know how to do what he does. The challenge is getting him in those positions more often and running the channels."
Sublime might be overdoing it, but his finishing can be sharp, and we have seen enough evidence of that. He also has the pace to play in Amorim's system, with the head coach keen for his striker to stretch play and then be on hand in the box to get most of the chances.
If there is a criticism around those figures, it is that Hojlund doesn't do enough to engineer his own chances. He is being let down by his teammates when it comes to service, but sometimes, a striker at this level needs to do it on his own to create something out of nothing. Hojlund isn't there yet.
He does know where the back of the net is, however, and if you can give him chances, he will score at a good rate. If he was to play in a United team that was giving their striker enough chances to reach an xG of 20 a season, then there is a good chance Hojlund would be a 20-goal-a-season striker. That would suffice.
He needs to sharpen up his own game to get there. He can get better at winning those duels with centre-backs and improve his ability to find space in the box, giving his teammates an option. But dig a little deeper and the stats suggest Hojlund's finishing isn't a major cause for concern, and that's why United are unlikely to give up on him this summer.