When Rasmus Hojlund signed for Manchester United last summer in a big money move, there was immediately a lot of expectation placed on his shoulders where goalscoring is concerned. Naturally, getting accustomed to the Premier League has taken some time, so the goals didn’t arrive immediately, but they came eventually. And a good Euros campaign could give him the confidence ahead of next season.
What a lot of people forget about Hojlund is that he’s still only twenty-one, and he’s been brought into Manchester United to solve their goalscoring woes. Woes that have plagued them for a while, with the lack of a natural central striker. The Dane made fourteen Premier League appearances before scoring his first goal in England’s top flight, but then the next six outings brought seven goals and two assists, proving he has got what it takes before injury halted his impressive form.
Since his absence from the side, Hojlund has struggled to find his goalscoring form again, and with only a handful of games in the Premier League remaining this term, the next opportunity to really build up that confidence seen at the start of the calendar year will be in Germany, where Denmark are expected to make it to the latter stages according to 2024 betting odds on the Euros. And for that to happen, Hojlund will be the player that manager Kasper Hjulmand turns to on the goalscoring front.
We’ve seen it many times before; players have a great international tournament, and that really propels them in terms of their confidence, which is arguably what Hojlund lacks at times. This is proven by his extended run in the team without a goal, and then how he was able to consistently score and make a couple of assists game after game when he got on a roll and momentum and confidence were with him. If the former Atalanta man is able to bag a couple of goals before the end of the Premier League season and take that into a fruitful Euros, he could arrive back in Manchester for pre-season raring to go.
The above could prove crucial for Hojlund himself, as it’s also expected that Manchester United will begin an overhaul of their squad in the coming months after Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s minority stake investment was approved, which gives him and his people control over the football side of the club. United have scored the least amount of goals in the Premier League top ten, even though they’re pushing for a top six finish, so there will be a lot of focus on improving drastically in this area.
Hojlund, even though he was a big money buy, may have to prove his worth more significantly if he’s to be trusted to lead the line next term. Brentford’s striker Ivan Toney, a prolific goalscorer at the top level, has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford, for example. And the only way for Hojlund to convince the powers that be is to get back on the goalscoring trail, which could happen at the Euros with Denmark.
