Rasmus Hojlund’s performance on his Manchester United debut impressed Gary Neville. But he feels that unfair comparisons to Erling Haaland must end.
After letting Cristiano Ronaldo leave in the middle of the season, United took their time choosing a replacement for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. Prior to chasing and signing Hojlund from Italian team Atalanta for £72 million, they toyed with the idea of making a bid for Harry Kane. Harry Kane is now at Bayern Munich.
Gary Neville is optimistic about Rasmus Hojlund
Comparisons between Hojlund and the phenomenal Manchester City striker have been frequent due to the similarities in their playing styles. Gary Neville, a former United captain, wants the 20-year-old Dane to have the freedom to develop at his own rate.
Rasmus Hojlund missed the first three Premier League games due to a back ailment. He finally made his long-awaited debut for the club on Sunday afternoon during their 3-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. For the final 23 minutes, he came off the bench to replace Anthony Martial.
In his postgame analysis, Gary Neville stated to Sky Sports:
“Manchester United have not had a striker they can hit. Ronaldo was not a classic target man, [Anthony] Martial and [Marcus] Rashford certainly aren’t, but it looks as though he will mess people about. The good thing is that he’s still learning the game.”
He continued saying
“He’s only played a couple of seasons at top-level football, but people are expecting him to be an Erling Haaland for Manchester United. They don’t have anyone with experience to help or back him up.”
Gary Neville further added
“Martial. We have been watching him for eight or nine years now – and he’s not what Ten Hag needs or wants. This lad [Hojlund], big price tag on him, it was an encouraging start.”
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