Manchester United drew another blank at Tottenham Hotspur and questions are being asked about striker Rasmus Hojlund.
Ruben Amorim was hoping to build on the FA Cup win over Leicester City as Manchester United travelled to take on Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
This ended up being another testing day for the United boss though as Amorim suffered another defeat.
United lost 1-0 to Tottenham as James Maddison’s first-half goal proved to be the winner in North London.
United lacked cutting edge in the final third to get back into the game with Alejandro Garnacho squandering a golden chance to equaliser.
Amorim watched on as United huffed and puffed but couldn’t find the net, handing him yet another defeat in the United hot seat.
Danish media react to Rasmus Hojlund display
United just haven’t scored enough goals this season, finding the net just 28 times in 25 Premier League games.
Garnacho is receiving criticism but he is far from alone with Rasmus Hojlund seriously struggling for goals.
The Dane has now gone 15 games without a goal and has only managed to score once in the Premier League under Amorim.
The hope was that Amorim would turn Hojlund into the new Viktor Gyokeres, but that really hasn’t happened yet.
United fans are concerned about Hojlund’s lack of progress this season and the Danish media share similar feelings.
Patrick Dorgu was praised for his display but BT rated Hojlund at just one out of six for his performance against Tottenham.
They suggested that Hojlund made ‘so many mistakes’ and a ‘cavalcade of bad decisions’, giving the ball away far too often.
BT did praise Hojlund’s effort and work rate but felt that the quality just wasn’t there with his performance against Spurs.
“A one-on-one duel against Ben Davies and a subsequent shot in the gloves of Vicario was where Rasmus Højlund’s evening peaked,” wrote BT.
“The rest of the match was unfortunately a cavalcade of bad decisions from our national team bombers. Højlund threw away balls in droves and made so many mistakes that he was not an asset to his team. At the same time, he was very rarely playable, which drew a few harsh words from Bruno Fernandes, who hardly looked like Højlund’s best friend during the 90 minutes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“The will was there again from Højlund, but his level is just not high enough. At the same time, he was also surrounded by a team that played sluggishly for long periods of the match, which made his task almost impossible,” they added.
Rasmus Hojlund pressure mounting
United invested big money in signing Hojlund from Atalanta in 2023.
Everybody knew at the time that Hojlund – just a year removed from playing for Sturm Graz in Austria – was far from the finished product.
United saw Hojlund turn in some decent displays last season though and finishing the campaign with 16 goals in all competitions was a fine return.
Hojlund has failed to take the next step though and United are now being linked with others strikers – which could put the Dane in danger.
Dusan Vlahovic is on the United radar and with United needing to sell in order to bring in big names, Hojlund may well be on the chopping block.
The coming months will be crucial for Hojlund as he really needs to step up and show that he can really be United’s striker of the future rather than another expensive misfire.