English giants Manchester United have officially announced Danish starlet Rasmus Højlund to the Premier League world today before their last pre-season friendly against French outfit RC Lens, with boss Erik ten Hag taking time to discuss why the Red Devils have put faith in the 20-year-old striker.
The København-born Danish international became one of the most expensive signings in the club’s history this summer when United splashed £64m plus £8m in add-ons for the Atalanta forward, immediately placing considerable expectations on the youngster.
Certainly, big media outlets wasted no time in comparing Højlund’s record to that of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, with many potentially looking to craft a Nordic goalscoring rivalry in the northwest of England before the season has even begun in earnest.
But for Ten Hag, there was no question as to why Højlund was the player the club wanted this summer.
Atalanta’s owner Steve Pagliuca had some really nice words to say about new Manchester United signing Rasmus Hojlund when I interviewed him for @CBSSportsGolazo earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/y3CxUe3wWr
— Matteo Bonetti (@Bonetti) August 5, 2023
In quotes sourced by football insider Fabrizio Romano, Ten Hag stated “Rasmus has huge potential. He wants to score goals, he’s hungry… it’s always on his mind. Trust me, he has such a huge potential and now it’s up to him to exploit it and we will support him, all coaches and teammates.”
Though there are many that have questioned why United chose to spend quite a chunk of cash on a player who scored just nine league goals during the 2022-23 Serie A campaign for Atalanta while still largely needing considerable refinement in certain aspects of his game.
Only time will tell.
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