Rasmus Hojlund impresses on Manchester United debut, but Gary Neville urges caution

Rasmus Hojlund made his long-awaited Manchester United debut on Sunday, and while Gary Neville was impressed with the 20-year-old’s performance, he warned that the Dane has a lot to learn before he can live up to the lofty expectations that come with his price tag.

The summer signing from Atalanta finally got on the pitch for the Red Devils after overcoming a back problem he was suffering when he arrived in England, and while it was far from a dream debut as United lost 3-1 to Arsenal, Hojlund looked bright and certainly brought something different to United’s front three.

Neville said: ‘Manchester United haven’t had a striker that they can hit. That’s the problem. Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t a classic targetman, [Anthony] Martial’s certainly not, [Marcus] Rashford’s not. At least they’ve got someone who looks he’ll mess people around and get his body in there. He’s aggressive, and he’s a runner.’

Hojlund’s inexperience a concern

However, Neville also pointed out that Hojlund has only played a couple of seasons of top level football and is still learning the game, so there is a lot of pressure on him to perform. He said: ‘We’re expected him to be Erling Haaland. That’s the problem. Manchester United haven’t got anyone else with experience to back him up. We’ve been watching Martial for 9-10 years at Manchester United and he’s not what Erik ten Hag wants. This lad, lot of pressure on him, big price tag, but it was an encouraging start.’

United boss Ten Hag praised Hojlund for his debut performance, but also said he enjoyed Martial’s display, which was really not that memorable.

Ten Hag said: ‘I think he played very good but I also think Martial had a good performance. I think Rasmus Hojlund had a very good impact on the game.’

Hojlund needs time to adapt

Ultimately, Hojlund’s performance was encouraging but it is clear that he needs time to adapt to the Premier League and the expectations that come with playing for Manchester United. He may have arrived with lofty expectations but it is important to remember that he is still just 20 years old and has only played a handful of top level games.

It will take time for him to reach his potential, so it is important that United fans are patient and give him the time and support he needs to develop into the player they hope he can be.