Ten Hag’s New Striker Has Arrived At Old Trafford
Manchester United have confirmed the signing of Danish international Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta for a fee of £64m plus a possible £8m in add ons. The 20-year-old had agreed personal terms with the club a while back now, but the lack of agreement in valuation between both United and Atalanta caused the negotiation time to extend.
There has been a lot of conversation about the price point itself and how much of a risk it will be for Erik Ten Hag to potentially rely upon an unproven entity. Some may have preferred the experience of Harry Kane who looks to be on his way to Bayern Munich depending on the outcome of their ‘final bid’ submitted yesterday. Another name also thrown out there was Victor Osimhen who is coming off an excellent 31 goal season, but his valuation is simply too high for Manchester United to engage with.
Strengths & Weaknesses
It’s important to say that this player is far from the complete package. Bags of potential, but it will be down to the coaching staff of Manchester United to piece things together in a way that allows both Højlund, and the team to thrive simultaneously.
Rasmus’ strength on the ball is a real asset to a club that has missed such a presence for many years now. He can hold off defenders with his back to goal, but also possesses the agility to quickly pivot with the ball and utilise dribbling skills that are quite impressive for a 6ft 2 forward. That agility comes into play when moving out to either channel, where he has the confidence to take on defenders (3.68 per 90) and deliver crosses into the area.
Having a player in Rasmus Højlund who provides much more in terms of running in behind a defence, could help to unlock more out of United’s wingers like Marcus Rashford and even Antony who last season lacked options when cutting onto his dangerous left foot. Will it bring more out of playmakers like Bruno Fernandes & Mason Mount who will routinely look to carve out goalscoring opportunities and make late runs into the area searching for gold?
As physically present as Rasmus Højlund looks on the eye, one area where he’ll be expected to improve in will be his ability to win ariel duals. The Dane currently sits in the 40th percentile for duals won compared to his positional peers in Europe’s top 5 leagues. Getting better at contesting against opposition centre backs will allow Andre Onana/the entire defence to have a long range outlet in situations where Man Utd need to relieve themselves from pressure, or quickly exploit openings higher up the field of play.
We can also transfer that to when he arrives in threatening positions inside the area. I believe however, that the team must do better when looking to deliver accurate crosses in an attempt to diversify attacks.
Club Comments
Manchester United’s Football Director John Murtough described Højlund as an “Exceptional talent”.
“He possesses technical and physical attributes which rank him amongst the best players in the world for his age group. Working under Erik ten Hag and his coaches will provide Rasmus with the perfect development platform. Everyone across the club will ensure that he is given the time and all the support required to reach his immense potential.
“Throughout the summer we have acted quickly and decisively to secure our primary targets early in the transfer window. This will ensure that Erik and his coaches have the best opportunity to prepare the squad to push for further success in the exciting campaign ahead.”
Final Thoughts
While the papers have been signed, it may take a few weeks for us to see the Dane in a Manchester United shirt due to an injury sustained while preparing for pre-season with Atalanta. The current status is back in training, but will take a few weeks to reach match fitness.
How do you feel about the signing of Rasmus Højlund? Let everyone know in the comments. Take care!
Check out my article speaking about United targets Sofyan Amrabat & Romeo Lavia here 👈
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