Manchester United legend Andy Cole says Rasmus Hojlund looks like a different and more ‘confident’ player ever since opening his Premier League account against Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
Anyone who had watched the Denmark international closely following his £64 million move from Atalanta would have told you that it was only a matter of time before the goals started to flow.
They certainly weren’t lacking in Europe after all – Rasmus Hojlund the joint-top scorer in the Champions League group-stages – and one Red Devils icon is not surprised to see Manchester United’s go-to centre-forward belatedly showcase his emphatic finishing skills on the domestic stage too, the goals flowing like ketchup these days after he knocked the bottle loose with that late winner against Aston Villa in December.
Rasmus Hojlund nears return for Manchester United
“A lot was expected of him when he first came here,” Cole, surely the most underrated striker of the Premier League era and a 1999 Treble winner, tells the Man United website. “He was a young man under a lot of pressure, with a big price-tag, in a team that wasn’t creating many chances.
“I think it’s a good thing for him as now he’s got that confidence. Confidence is a massive thing in football. He got off the mark against Villa and the goals have continued since then. For me, personally, I just want to see him continue to do that.
“There’s going to be a time when he’s not scoring goals. It’s part and parcel of football. But, so long as he keeps doing the right things, he’ll be okay.”
Hojlund has scored in every one of his league matches since that festive Villa thriller. In fact, while netting twice inside the first seven minutes at Luton Town, the 21-year-old became the youngest player in Premier League history ever to net in six successive games.
Rasmus the record-breaker
“It’s like buses,” adds Cole. “You miss one and get another one, and there are plenty more that come after that.
“When he first came here, of course he took a bit of flak. He hadn’t scored a goal (in the Premier League) and looked like he was playing with a little bit less confidence. Once he gets the first one, the second one comes very quickly as well, and his confidence grows.
“If you look at him now, after his first goal in the team to when he wasn’t scoring goals, he’s puffed out his chest, his shoulders are back and he’s playing out there and doing things he knows what he can do now. That’s what you do with confidence.
“Like I said before, long may it continue. There’s going to be a time when you score goals and a time when you don’t score goals. But keep doing the basics and we’ll be okay.”
Most prolific season of his career
Hojlund, not only a finisher but a supreme talent with his back to goal too, now has 13 goals under Erik ten Hag. Despite missing the last three games through injury, and despite that sluggish start, 2023/24 is now the most prolific campaign of the Dane’s senior career.
There is some hope, however, that Hojlund may be back in time to take on struggling Everton at Old Trafford on Saturday (The Standard).
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