The last time Manchester United played a league fixture at Kenilworth Road was back in 1992. Since then, many things have changed within football including the formation of the Premier League, another thirteen league titles for United under Sir Alex Ferguson and Luton Town going all the way down to the fifth tier of English football and back again.
However, from that day back in April 1992 there are two similarities which remain to this day. One is that Luton’s home ground more or less looks exactly the same, retaining it’s charm amongst supporters. The other is Manchester United having a strong, powerful focal point up front who can hold up the ball superbly well, go beyond and also smash it with real ferocity and conviction. That day it was Mark Hughes and today it’s Rasmus Hojlund.
In scoring his first of the game at ‘The Kenny’, at 21 years and 14 days old, Hojlund became the youngest player to score in six consecutive league games since the Premier League began in 1992. He has now scored 7 goals in his last 6 games, which also includes 2 assists. He is a man in form for a team that has now won 5 games on the bounce in all competitions.
His first goal owed much to his perseverance and willingness to close down the opposition. In pouncing upon Amari’i Bell’s early mistake, Hojlund finished with aplomb. His second was even more impressive with him guiding the ball past Thomas Kaminski in the Luton goal with his chest. He certainly meant it and to be able to guide the ball in that way is a real skill.
In recent weeks the team around him has improved. Both Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho have contributed much more from wide positions, whilst also having club captain Bruno Fernandes playing behind him. Earlier in the season, for one reason or another, Rasmus Hojlund was not getting the service he needed from his team mates. Be it selfish play out wide at times or a lack of confidence throughout the side, Hojlund was ploughing a lone furrow and getting no rewards.
His goals in the disappointing Champions League group stage shown that given the chances he could certainly finish them. He arrived at the club with a back injury and the pressure of leading the line for arguably the world’s biggest club can be too much for anyone. A key component of any top player though, let alone one so young, is to keep going and to not let his head go down. This is something that Hojlund kept doing and is now reaping the rewards for this. If he keeps getting the service and, like all strikers, gets that little bit of luck too he could be special.
I said on X, and to anyone that would listen back in December, when many were doubting whether he had what it takes to succeed at Old Trafford, that he really reminded me of a young Hughes. Despite his age and fresh face, he has the body of a man. He’s strong, tall, quick, can finish and also has the ability to hold up the play. These are all key characteristics of a top class centre forward, like Hughes was.
Now he’s getting the ball and getting a bit of luck that all strikers need we’re seeing the fruits of his Labour!!
Hojlund is gonna be some player for us 👌🏼 https://t.co/YldQFaEDBh
— Burney (@BurneyMcr1) February 18, 2024
A former teammate of the Welshman is Paul Parker and the former United full back also said last week to Danish magazine, Tipsbladet, that he feels that our young Danish striker reminds him of Hughes, with whom Parker shared a dressing room for 4 years before Hughes departed for Chelsea in 1995. The former England right back also played with Hughes again for a spell at Chelsea, so is well placed to make that comparison from his own experiences.
In both Serie A and the Euro 2024 Qualifiers last season Hojlund really stood out. For his country he scored 7 goals in that campaign and could’ve had more had he not been injured for their final two games. The only players to score more in qualifying were Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane. In just over 3 years, he has quickly progressed from FC Copenhagen in his homeland to Sturm Graz in Austria and then Atlanta in Italy’s top flight.
It’s a similar trajectory to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland who quickly moved from Molde to RB Salzburg and then Dortmund to City. The Norwegian is regarded by many as the best striker in the game. The Dane has the ability and attributes to be mentioned in the same conversation. If he has the same impact as Mark Hughes did at Old Trafford then we’ll be more than happy.
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