A year ago, Rasmus Hojlund became the youngest-ever player to score in six successive Premier League games.
A year later, the Dane has gone 14 games in all competitions without scoring, nine Premier League games have come and gone during that run, without a single goal.
Hojlund’s return for this season’s league campaign is just as underwhelming with a total of just two. But after promising signs in his first season, why has Hojlund’s form tailed off massively?
The 22-year-old has been Ruben Amorim’s preferred option at centre-forward since the Portuguese took over at Old Trafford in November. Featuring in all but one of Amorim’s first 13 Premier League outings in charge, Hojlund has also started eight of those games. However, the faith shown in United’s No 9, from his boss, hasn’t translated into output.
Amorim’s arrival had United fans dreaming of what possible impact he could have on Hojlund. Comparisons were drawn with Viktor Gyokores, who under Amorim, developed into one of Europe’s most sought-after centre-forwards.
Hojlund is generating the second least xG in the Premier League this season
On the eye, the pair share some parallels as willing runners and strikers who enjoy a physical battle but at present, comparisons end on that superficial level.
Among Premier League strikers that have played at least 432 minutes this season (32), Hojlund takes the least shots per game. Hojlund is also in the bottom two for xG, with 0.20 generated per game.
His six-goal run in the Premier League came after a 14-match long wait for his first in the English top flight. The run embodied what he can be as a striker, with a variety of goals scored, some like a poacher while others displayed composure, where he was able to find a yard for himself before dispatching a finish.
This term, a criticism levelled at the young striker is that he has struggled to find the right positions on the pitch to maximise potential opportunities. With only five 2.83 touches per 90 minutes played in the opposition area this season in the Premier League, Hojlund ranks amongst those with the least.
In January, Amorim admitted that Rasmus Hojlund’s problems in front of goal are not exclusively a Hojlund problem.
“I think it’s more a team problem than a Rasmus problem,” Amorim said.
“You can see it, it’s not just from now, it’s from the past. So we have clearly a lack of goals and a lack of threat.
“All the players have moments in this season. I think when we started this journey together, Rasmus was the player that was always scoring.”
Hojlund’s woes in front of goal have also fed into him showing his frustrations on the pitch. Notably, United’s £72m signing got into a heated row with Amad Diallo during United’s 2-1 Europa League win against Viktoria Plzen after the winger elected to go for goal rather than play the ball to Hojlund.
Again, during United’s FA Cup win over Leicester, Alejandro Garnacho’s decision to shoot from a tight angle, rather than play the ball into the box saw Hojlund let his frustrations be known once again. It’s behaviour that Amorim believes his striker needs to embrace.
“I think it’s a good thing. I will not say one word bad about this type of behaviour,” Amorim said after the game.
“He needs to understand that sometimes he has to do a job without touching the ball.
“He cannot get so frustrated because in the next play, maybe he will have a situation near the goal. So he has to be calm.
“But this is a character, and if you know so many players from that kind of character that he has from that country, they always want more. They want to score, they feel the critics.
“So, it’s a good thing, but he will improve. And a striker needs a very good team to deliver very good balls for him, and we are not helping our strikers at the moment.”
As much as Hojlund is struggling in front of goal, United’s forwards are struggling to find their centre-forward. United captain Bruno Fernandes’ creative numbers while favourable, do not necessarily tell the tale of what’s happening on the pitch.
Fernandes has attempted the second-most final third passes and has created the fourth-most chances in the Premier League but United’s focus on wider areas is having a detrimental impact on Hojlund’s numbers.
Manchester United’s wide players have struggled to create for their centre-forward this season
Despite an over-reliance on either flank, It’s clear that United’s wider players need to change their focus in order to allow Hojlund to thrive.
The lofty price tag meant that the responsibility of leading the line for United was always a tall task. Now devoid of confidence, Hojlund has entered the territory where he will be desperate to find the back of the net. Tottenham on Sunday, who felt the brunt of a rampant Hojlund on his six-goal run, may just offer that opportunity, live on Sky Sports.
Watch Tottenham vs Man Utd live on Sky Sports Premier League from 4pm on Sunday; kick-off 4.30pm.
