Rasmus Hojlund: The £72m Man Utd signing with a huge reputation to live up to
TALK about pressure, Rasmus Hojlund has a whole heap of it on his young shoulders. His £72million move from Atalanta has ended Manchester United’s interest in Harry Kane but fans, pundits and the bloke down the pub who has an opinion on everything will be comparing his performances to those of the Tottenham striker and hotly debating whether the Old Trafford board should have splashed the extra cash for the England captain.
And then there’s the imposing figure of Erling Haaland just down the road at Manchester City and his 36 Premier League goals in his first season at the Etihad Stadium.
United fans will also inevitably compare the 20-year-old to Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial as well as former forwards at the Theatre of Dreams such as Radamel Falcao, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Teddy Sheringham, Dwight Yorke, Andrew Cole… you get the picture.
It may not be fair on the young Denmark striker but that’s the way football is and he has a huge reputation as well as the massive price tag to live up to after scoring ten times in 34 Serie A appearances last season.
Hojlund misses the first few weeks of the season with a minor injury but the chances are that when he’s fully fit he will be thrown in at the deep end and expected to start banging in the goals required for United to pose a threat to City’s dominance at the top of the table.
Hojlund’s 25/1 with bet365 to win the Golden Boot but that’s unlikely even on each-way terms. Rashford’s the better option to top the scoring charts at the same price with Betway but the best bet for the resurgent England marksman is to back him at evens with William Hill to be United’s best finisher in the league this season.
Midfielder Mason Mount and goalkeeper Andre Onana are also summer acquisitions costing United £55m from Chelsea and £47m from Inter Milan respectively but there’s still the feeling manager Erik ten Hag needs more time and further requirements before he can launch a credible title assault.
United are to be swerved at Betfred’s 11/1 to become champions and but the 4/5 with Coral and Ladbrokes to finish in the top four should come in.
Lauren James has been amazing in the England midfield at the Women’s World Cup and is 13/2 with bet365 to score the opening goal in the knockout match with Nigeria. Even better is the 11/5 with William Hill that she finds the net at any time while over 3.5 goals in the round of 16 match is 13/5 with Paddy Power.
Australia are 20/21 with Ladbrokes and Coral to reach the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals by beating Denmark.
Conclusion
Rasmus Hojlund has a lot of expectations on his shoulders after his big money move from Atalanta to Manchester United. He is expected to be one of United’s main goalscorers this season, but he will have to compete with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial for that role. He also has to live up to his £72 million price tag, as well as compete with Erling Haaland for goals in Manchester. It won’t be an easy task, but if he can live up to his potential, he could be a key player for United this season.