- The Man United striker has struggled during his debut season at Old Trafford
- Gary Neville has claimed Rasmus Hojlund won’t become a Premier League great
- Manchester United should play at Wembley for two years, tear down Old Trafford and build a Tottenham-esque stadium – Listen to It’s All Kicking Off! podcast
Gary Neville believes Rasmus Hojlund won’t become one of the Premier League‘s great strikers at Manchester United and claimed the Dane would benefit from being the club’s second striker after struggling for goals.
The United striker hit a purple patch of form at the turn of the year, scoring seven goals in six Premier League games, but has found the back of the net only once since then.
Hojlund moved to Old Trafford in a £72m transfer from Italian side Atalanta last summer but has struggled to find consistency while battling injuries during his debut year in the Premier League, with United rarely looking a threat in front of goal.
Rival fans have been keen to highlight Hojlund’s poor goals return, with United manager Erik ten Hag also revealing recently that Harry Kane was his top choice before the England captain joined Bayern Munich.
The 21-year-old has been learning on the job at United and is the club’s most senior striker, despite being yet to complete a full season in the English top-flight, and former club icon Neville doesn’t believe he will reach the achievements of Erling Haaland and Sergio Aguero.
Gary Neville believes Rasmus Hojlund won’t become one of the Premier League’s great strikers
Hojlund again struggled in Manchester United’s home defeat against Arsenal on Sunday
Neville doesn’t believe Hojlund will match the levels of Man City superstar Erling Haaland (pictured)
Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: ‘I think this is a kid that needs persevering with. I looked at Ollie Watkins before. He’s not going to become a Haaland or an Aguero, one of the great strikers in Premier League history, I don’t think.
‘But he can become an Ollie Watkins. You can look at someone like that, I think I can get to 20 goals.
‘I wish he was the second striker this season. I wish he was learning, I did the interview with Eric ten Hag last week. He mentioned Harry Kane. If he was learning off Kane now or playing with Kane, I think you’d see a completely different player.
‘Secondly, he’s 21 years of age. He’s a little bit scruffy in his work is his first season in the Premier League, and he reminds me a little bit of Darwin Nunez. He reminds me a little bit of Nicholas Jackson.
‘When you look at them, they’re projects. Manchester United, this moment in time is their only striker. Manchester United is the only striker in the club. Forget Anthony Martial. He’s not been there for years.
‘If you look at Nunez and if you look at Hojlund, the really interesting thing for me is that that shop conversion is up 22% so when he actually gets chances, he’s actually better than Jackson and Nunez.
‘Now you might say, okay, but I think that’s something really to work with. The expected goals at the bottom, he’s only expected to score 7.4 goals.
‘The service in delivery into him is poor you look at Nunez and Jackson, Jackson, they’re at 16.3 and 17, double,’ he said.
Hojlund moved to Old Trafford in a £72m transfer from Italian side Atalanta last summer but has struggled to find consistency
The 21-year-old has scored just once in the Premier League since February 18
United legend Neville believes Hojlund needs to learn from another more experienced striker
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher retaliated to Neville’s comments by questioning whether United can be happy with Hojlund not being one of the best players in the Premier League, stating: ‘Is that good enough?
‘Is that good enough for Manchester United? I mean, I feel sorry for Holland a little bit, but I do look at it and think, what is, what’s his trick? What does he do?
‘I know he’s young, and I actually think he’s been brought in maybe a couple of years too soon,’ said Carragher.
Neville also blamed Hojlund’s lack of chances in front of goal on wide players such as Marcus Rashford (left) and Alejandro Garnacho (right)
Neville explained Hojlund is more likely to become a reliable goalscorer like Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins rather than match the levels of Premier League greats
Hojlund started his eight consecutive Premier League fixture since returning from injury in Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat against Arsenal and similarly struggled to impose himself while being contained by William Saliba and Gabriel.
There is a frustration amongst United supporters that Hojlund isn’t being serviced by wide players such as Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, with Neville pinning the majority of the striker’s problems in front of goal on them.
‘This is the hardest introduction, to be honest. To do for a young striker into a struggling team, interchanging team. We talk a lot of Manchester about the change in defence, but there’s been a lot of changes in attack as well.
‘This is a kid who doesn’t know when the ball is going to come into the box. He’s not being serviced. He’s not getting the delivery into the box when he wants it. The inconsistency of players around him is affecting him,’ he added.