Rasmus Hojlund is not a popular man at Manchester United, but the stage is being set for him to sign with AC Milan in Italy.
The quickness and clarity with which Ruben Amorim has discarded Rasmus Hojlund has been startling to see, and many Man Utd fans would argue that the level of ruthlessness is long overdue.
At the same time, there is also a section of fans who would correctly argue that Hojlund was set up to fail at Old Trafford, and, like many before him, will flourish when he leaves.
AC Milan are interested in Hojlund, who is determined to stay, and Italian football pundit Robert Donadoni has come to the Dane’s defence, offering Milan a key reason why they should sign him.
Rasmus Hojlund in Manchester United Training Session
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Robert Donadoni defends Rasmus Hojlund
For a player who signed as a teenager and was thrown into a dysfunctional team after recovering from injury, Hojlund’s record of 16 goals across all competitions wasn’t even remotely bad.
The problem was the big step backwards he took last season, but it was as a part of a team that was allergic to scoring goals as a whole.
Playing as a striker in that team was a thankless task, especially for a youngster bereft of confidence, with no senior player to take the burden off him.
Robert Donadoni, speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Tuttomercatoweb), has now argued that Hojlund was set up to fail at the club because he’s a “classic” centre-forward.
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He said: “Every striker has important characteristics, but many don’t take into account how important the team’s work is to a striker’s performance.
“Hojlund seems to me to be the classic player who finishes off his teammates’ moves, with well-defined characteristics. He’s not the type to create chances himself, perhaps by setting off on his own and dribbling past opponents.”
This is a pretty perfect assessment of the Dane as a player, which is why he struggled immensely in a team where the attack was not clicking systemically.
At the same time, it should give hope to Milan that he can be unlocked once the system around him functions. More importantly, he has already played in Italy, so the league is not new for him.
Hojlund is the perfect target for Milan
Donadoni said that Hojlund’s experience of the Serie A is a ‘good thing’, since he broke out at Atalanta before the lure of United proved too much for him.
Perhaps Hojlund would have benefitted from having another season or two in Bergamo, where he could develop and score away from the glare of Old Trafford.
Donadoni said: “He’s a young centre-forward who’s already had a taste of Serie A, and that’s a good thing.”
Hojlund’s value is at its lowest right now, but that just makes him the perfect target for Milan, because the risk is effectively zero.
If Hojlund rediscovers form, then the return on their investment will be massive. The Italian league has already resuscitated the careers of many United players, and they were far older than him.
The ceiling remains high because a player doesn’t forget how to play football overnight, and his physical tools are tantalising.
Putting it all together at Milan would be the dream scenario.