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Topics: Rasmus Hojlund, Manchester United, Premier League, Football, Erik Ten Hag
Ryan Smart
Topics: Rasmus Hojlund, Manchester United, Premier League, Football, Erik Ten Hag
A 'leak' allegedly from the Manchester United dressing room has made a claim about the form of striker Rasmus Hojlund, according to a new report.
United lost 1-0 to Arsenal on Sunday in their latest Premier League defeat, and had only two shots on target across the 90 minutes.
Manager Erik ten Hag is currently dealing with a lengthy injury list, which saw all five of his most senior centre-backs unable to start or be involved at all against Arsenal.
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Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford were also absent, with United's bench made up mostly of young players at Old Trafford.
All that contributed to another game without a goal for Hojlund, who has netted once since suffering a muscle injury in February.
Prior to that, the 21-year-old had scored in seven competitive Premier League fixtures - showing the potential that Ten Hag and United saw in him to splash out £72 million to buy him from Atalanta last summer.
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But because of injuries and a lack of squad depth, Hojlund has effectively had to start every game for United during a busy period of the season.
And his lack of goals also haven't been helped by a damning statistic which emerged after the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal.
United team-mates have created just five chances for Hojlund during the past eight Premier League games, as per Statman Dave, with three of those coming in the 4-2 win over Sheffield United - a game in which the Dane scored.
The Manchester Evening News claim that, according to an unnamed squad member, certain players want to see alternative solutions up front amid a lack of goals in the team in recent weeks.
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Anthony Martial is United's only other natural centre-forward option, but the Frenchman has missed the entirety of 2024 through injury and his contract expires this summer.
Speaking last month, Ten Hag admitted that signing a new striker to compete with Hojlund and ease the workload on the United star will be among his top summer transfer priorities.
He said: "I think it would help. You need more options. You need double positioning in every position.
"Some positions, we didn't have the choices this season - the striker position, the left-back position - and that has a negative impact on the results."
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United legend Andrew Cole, meanwhile, told the MEN: "I have said many times, for such a young man to come to a club like Man United and be expected to score goals, it's difficult.
"To come to Man United and know that you have no-one to learn off, it's difficult."