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.
Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Marcus Rashford were also absent, with United's bench made up mostly of young players at Old Trafford.
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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.
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.
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."
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."
