Rasmus Hojlund’s former team-mate Jesper Lindstrom makes cheeky request to Man United striker earlier than recreation in opposition to Everton on Sunday

Everton loan star Jesper Lindstrom has asked boyhood pal Rasmus Hojlund to go easy on his struggling side at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Lindstrom messaged the cheeky request to his Danish international team-mate after Hojlund’s double against Bodo Glimt in the Europa League on Thursday.

But he got an emphatic response from the 21-year-old Manchester United striker who wants to continue impressing his new manager Ruben Amorim.

‘I texted him after the game to congratulate him on his two goals but told him not to score this weekend,’ revealed Lindstrom.

‘His reply was to tell me he would do his best to score goals.

‘I knew him from when he was about 10 years old. He didn’t seem much when he was young.

Jesper Lindstrom joined Everton on loan from Napoli in the summer but is yet to score for them

Rasmus Hojlund netted a brace for Man United in their 3-2 win over Bodo/Glimt on Thursday

‘His Danish team didn’t believe in him and that’s why he left for a club in Austria where he smashed it and then he went to Italy and smashed it there.

‘There is a good reason why Rasmus is in Manchester – he’s a good player. He has qualities – like you saw on Thursday with some good finishes.’

Lindstrom will also look forward to catching up with another international in the United ranks, Christian Eriksen.

Winger Lindstrom can remember only too well the horror of watching coverage of Eriksen’s cardiac arrest during Euro 2020 from his brother’s wedding.

‘My brother’s wedding reception totally stopped with everybody wanting to know what happened,’ says Lindstrom.

‘I had my phone by my side and was watching the Denmark game on it – just like some other guys there were doing. My brother didn’t know we were watching but we had to do it because we like football.

‘Suddenly, everyone went to their phones and my brother came over and said: ‘What’s wrong?’ It was crazy.

‘Luckily, Christian’s alive. He’s such a good person and great player. I am happy for him and his family. I can imagine it must have been tough for all of them.

Lindstrom is on loan at Goodison Park from Serie A and finding his feet after a slow start 

‘He wouldn’t know what had happened to him because he ‘died’ – he was not there, but everyone back in Denmark was thinking about him.’

For 24-yearold Lindstrom, Old Trafford would be the ideal platform for him to show the potential that once persuaded Napoli to buy him for £30m.

He’s on loan at Goodison from Serie A and finding his feet after a slow start. Everton have slipped towards the danger zone after failing to score in their last three matches and face a tough December fixture list which includes games against Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea.

He added: ‘As the games go on and with the more game-time I get, the more rhythm I will have – I don’t get cramp 60 minutes anymore, so I feel like I’m getting the rhythm again and I just need the last moment.’

Lindstrom reveals he is open to a permanent move, saying: ‘I will do everything I can for them to buy me because I like it here.

‘I like the training, I like the privacy, I like the life here. So hopefully they will buy me, but I have to show them that I’m good enough for them.’