How Rasmus Hojlund Will Fit Into Erik Ten Hag’s Manchester United

With Manchester United set to sign Rasmus Højlund from Atalanta, Erik Ten Hag finally has a first team centre forward, but will he actually play up front? In this video, Statman Dave takes a look at his biggest strengths & weaknesses and how his arrival could impact Erik Ten Hag's Man Utd tactics.
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[@jakobhk12]

Honestly when Højlund started his first few games for Denmark I was blown away.. I was like, holy cow.. This guy does everything you would like a number 9 to do in the modern game. Might be a proper gem. I just really hope manchester united's fans will go easy on him. His pricetag is not his fault and he is only twenty, so he is bound to have some bad performances. I really love Eric ten Hag's philosophy and recruiting style! Congratulations to man united :))

[@Luther1984]

Pp

[@Luther1984]

0

[@vkjfv]

He isn't haaland level though

[@ClihtYeastwood]

⁠@@vkjfvholy sh!t, really??? No one had any idea that Haaland was much more established than Hojlund 😑 Here’s one for ya, no one is Haaland level. As a striker, no one.

[@ClihtYeastwood]

@jakobhk12 it’s important to remember that international football doesn’t determine anything when it comes to how players will do at club level. International football is slow and 90% of opponents are trash.

[@robertpowell3634]

Only thing I can see that could hinder his goal scoring is our current main wide men don't like to cross, they tend to just cut in and shoot,plus with that though is Hoijlund can be there to follow up when Rashford and Anthoy's shots are mostly uselss

[@nickraoyj]

Disagree, Hojlund's game is not exactly about headers at the moment. In fact, aerial duels is his weakest area, so it's not exactly a priority crossing to him. I think he is more of a link up and hold up guy, and he will play in Rashford and Antony for them to score more.

[@robertpowell3634]

@@nickraoyj crossing doesn't automatically mean high balls in for people to head. low balls across the box are also types of crosses. Seen a few of his goals where he has dropped deep, played it out wide and the wide player has played it low across the box and Hojlund has run onto them through the middle and scored. Rashford and Anthony don't even do that, as they are so one footed they have to cut back in and by that point most of the time the ball across the box option has gone. My point is, once it goes to the wide men, their first thought is always how can I get a shot away, not how can I get it in the box

[@nickraoyj]

@@robertpowell3634 i take your point, though i'd usually call those kind of balls as "squaring" rather than "crossing". This will still be a work in progress, Ten Hag will have to rewire the wingers' patterns of play once Hojlund is fit enough to join team training.

[@robertpowell3634]

@@nickraoyj Well Rashford has always thought he was the new CR7, his style of playing will never change, he will always try and cut in and shoot, worryingly I have noticed Garnacho is starting to do that more and more. but thankfully he is still at the age where he can be coached into a certain way. plus he can use his left foot so it's not as big of an issue as Rashford. Everyone has known for a while we have needed a 9 but what concerns me is so many times last seaosn I watched us not get the ball in the box even though there were actually peoplen there waiting for the ball, instead the Rashfords, Anthonys and Brunos chose instead to shoot when there was little chance of scoring. People keep saying the main reason we don't score loads is not having that 9 there, when that is only a part of the reason. There's no point in having a 9 if he is not going to be found. Now I am not syaing that means Hojlund won't score many, far from it as ETH want us to be this amazing transitional side, which he will be great at, but that tactic won't work all the time. You need the plan b of getting it in the box, either by the hgh cross, low squaring or by those fast, low whipped balls in. I would like to see more of Rashford and Anthony(or whoever plays out wide) swapping during games, mix it up and confuse the opposition more and it would also mean they can't cut in and shoot, they would have to get it in the box or link up with others who can. They occasionally do it, but not often enough

[@Stef_FPL]

Well that's where Ten Hag comes in isn't it? The reason they don't cross too much is they haven't had anyone to cross to. Until now.

[@mcw1393]

Erik ten Hag is a very philosophical manager. His first season in PL can be considered experimental season and adapting season for him to find out what kind of players he need to both suit his philosophy and play according to the demands of PL at the same time. He seems t focus more on players that is energy driven, physical but technical at the same time. He didn't just look for speed and strength in players. He wants to create a very aggressive United team. His signing in Mount, Onana and Hoejlund purely focus on both aspects. His next target, Amrabat really shows that EtH really want a high pressing and energetic team. Fabrizio reported earlier on that United also scouted Todibo which would be a very good addition for our backline in my opinion.

[@_orodrigofernandes]

I am so ready for this Man Utd ETH is building. Lovely to see the sharpness of Bruno's passes and tricky movements of Garnacho. It's icing on the cake. This season is gonna be awesome!!

[@jordancoxall6248]

Dave, I hadn’t thought about that before. But that is actually genius. Playing Fernandez a bit deeper to make more use of his long passing, will help create more attacks and then he can arrive late to the edge of the box. Also mount a bit higher will suit him more. Very excited for the season.

[@User-wr9kl]

The video every united fan needed… Sir David has done it yet again!

[@2200bronx]

With Eriksens passing skills and Højlunds speed you got a dangerus duo and They know eathother from the NT🤗 Great signing Man U

[@michael-john4954]

do you think Ericksen will be playing often with Mount in the team now?

[@jtdabraham7638]

@@michael-john4954don’t think so

[@paulosasfaw9799]

Stat-man Dave always enjoyed your stats and analysis!!!

[@paulstockton7121]

I expect Antony to step up this season and start chipping in with some goals. Hes already shown some improvement during the back end of last season.

[@ja17.17]

100% Paul... Everyone is writing him off but last year he was just adapting to new league and language etc ... He's gonna blow up this year

[@S__123]

He was already chipping in with goals last season

[@BabsW]

Nope. He's not good enough. Too left-footed and consistently poor in his decision-making.

[@thebizness5596]

Hojlund may not bang in 50 a season but one thing for sure is he will be a joy to watch. Football is an entertainment sport at the end of the day so I’m happy we’ve signed him rather than a tap in merchant.

[@dorianshillingford9530]

Love you dave ,brilliant analysis as usual

[@Mossbergg]

im gutted he is injured right away man

[@garybyrne793]

Every so often a player pops up and you just know he's made for man utd . Ole , Yorke Rooney and I haven't seen it for awhile until now . Hojlund is made for man utd that I have no doubt...

[@cyberwess-007]

The vid we wanted 🙌

[@drtrevelisek9924]

You forgot high probability we'll get our CDM Amrabat soon as well. Hopefully we can sell DVB and Fred soon. A few clubs interested so just gotta wait and see.

[@mcw1393]

And maybe adda another CB since Fabrizio mentioned United scouting Todibo many times this season. Todibo's a beast!

[@LengmanLez]

Missed you Dave. Where did you go mate. No new content for 2weeks. Go on holiday?

[@lakshminarayankarthi]

Perfect timing..

[@pablohoney9972]

It’s like he timed it

[@jdavid6801]

I personally,y think Sancho should start on the right wing now that we’ve got a striker

[@nomanahmed9880]

Not sure if Tenhag wants that he prefers Anthony over Sancho... plus the way Anthony played today against lens where he kept on passing the ball in the box I was really impressed by that

[@celtshaun1427]

@@nomanahmed9880 and on the other hand Sancho did himself no favors when given his cameo chance today against Lens looked disinterested and lost nearly every ball, Hopefully we will see the true Sancho tomorrow.

[@petercarolan9416]

​@@nomanahmed9880there is a massive tactical reason. man utd while attacking play a 3-1-6. Antony being a touchline winger allows mount and Bruno to fit in. sancho likes to drift inside and would clog that space. sanchos shout in this team is playing instead of Bruno or mount

[@lefthandlee]

​@@petercarolan9416Antony drifts inside a lot more than sancho coz hes got no right foot

[@cheburnley6143]

Agreed

[@fugaziishime]

ten hag made a on the down haller look like the best striker in europe. i bet he can get a lot out of a playe like rasmus hoijlund

[@shaneheffernan]

If we sold maguire and got todibo along with selling fred and getting amrabat that would be a 10 out of 10 window but maguire unfortunately I don't see leaving. Amrabat is a must though

[@omereonyemoses2085]

Well his gone now 😂

[@trickyrikki6823]

Been waiting for this. Chur dave

[@rehannongbri6358]

Just look at our luck.. a player just signed for us and he's already injured 🤦.. just hope our season won't be ruined like it was last season due to injuries.

[@Jykobe491]

How severe is the injury?

[@PoisonDwarf28]

​@@Jykobe491not severe as he's been training apparently

[@rehannongbri6358]

@@Jykobe491 not severe but he might miss a few games.. still not sure but there's a chance.

[@ClihtYeastwood]

I’m concerned about the distribution for this player. Rashford and antony virtually never cross the ball… Rashford is quite frankly an incredibly selfish player. So if he’s starting on the left which we all know is inevitable, and Mr. ‘Cut in on the left and score 1 in 50’ Antony on the right… where is Rasmus going to receive the ball from apart from Bruno?

[@neillynch4778]

I'm completely in agreement with you! I thing Utd would be better off with Sancho on the right instead of Antony. He's more of the double-threat creator/scorer, and that would allow Rashford and Hojlund to score most of the goals. Solskjaer proved that having three primary goal scorers up front is actually worse than having two and surrounding them with playmakers.

[@shantonfortuin8691]

If we can see it I'm sure the manager does too. Let's leave it to him to sort out. We trust in him.

[@leeboyce9233]

Love the Chanel

[@skd3480]

If the rumors are true; Greenwood back into the team will give him a mountain to climb especially if he does not hit the ground running that fast.

[@habibosumanu2419]

I would rather prefer Anthony vs Greenwood on the right. It would bring the best out of both players

[@Paddythefriendlykiwi]

I'd prefer Greenwood shot out of a Canon. He's a distraction and I don't want to be justifying to my daughter why he's being booed.

[@skd3480]

@@Paddythefriendlykiwi you there sir can shove your morality some where n take a walk, when you stop making demi gods out of this fomous pple (athletes & entertainment) then you will hopefully not ask too much of them. If we hold everyone to this type of judgememt, then you better go check your hospitals, programmers, police officers etc who have been charged of wild crimes n were found not guilty so they get to go back to their jobs. The young man made a mistake if the legal system found him not guilty, most of all the "victim" goes on to forgive n have a family with him then who are you to say other wise. By all means he deserves a second chance n a shot at redemption. N if you are angry or you deem yourself so righteous then go first pass ur judgement on the legal system n then the young lady involved. Ps. Next time don't involve your kids in this convo, no ones asked you to give her out to Mason.

[@skd3480]

@@habibosumanu2419 green may start on the right but with his lethal finish I don't think he will play there for long. It may be the end for Amad n Sancho unless they are converted to midfielders

[@tristman8413]

Greenwood hasn't played football for well over a year...

[@PremKulpy]

He will fit upfront!!

[@mazidmufc]

Nice analysis Dave👍👍. In EtH we blv😊😊

[@nedimbasic7823]

I honestly think sancho on right ganacho on left and the new number 9 we will get more goals rashi likes to shoot and same thing with Anthony unless they start passing today he would scored easy 3 if he was playing with ganacho on the left.

[@justafan2135]

Ha Ha Ha, trying to win the league with that nonsense.

[@kezleven8755]

Hes got the attitude to just wants to improve , think he will be number 17

[@TheLegend-hc1cn]

Excited for this one, think hell be great in a year

[@Goodladbrother]

Andreas Christensen are on his way to mancester united, united almost copy the danish invansion in brentford which is a good thing, but united take the best of the best danish player.

[@alicontractor1349]

Any idea on how bad his injury is ?

[@BJackson.]

Fookin Rasmus Hojuland mate🔥🔥

[@richmeat6623]

I don’t get the hate for Rashy in these comments. Without his goals last season we wouldn’t be playing champions league, we wouldn’t have won a cup and we wouldn’t have got to the FA cup final. Yes he isn’t perfect but he is still one of our best players. Some of our fanbase are just toxic clowns.

[@uuultraaa]

dont understand how theres still people who prefer dalot over awb

[@BaldursPicketFence]

Someone said (I can't remember the journo who said it) Højland's ceiling is probably peak Edinson Cavani, which if it's true I can't complain about.

[@emmanuelonyono4517]

Well be back, I watched the game today said if he played there two goals due chances created.

[@J040PL7]

Bssed on the game today, mount will be a shadow striker and bruno a deep lying playmaker. I really liked brunos long passes.

[@thebizness5596]

Mount is a shadow player. He’ll be dropped by January. Not good enough if we want to compete for the title. Maybe in the cups but consistently performing week in week out he can’t be trusted and that’s why I think he’s a squad player at best if we’re serious.

[@jimbob7924]

​@@thebizness5596🎯

[@JackTheStrippa]

Bruno and Mount will cost us so much in that midfield. Everything you said goes to show how exposed our midfield will be

[@12mightylion]

In the bigger games amrabat will start in midfield and mount will play there when we’re playing teams that will sit back

[@mahadasif2474]

yes dave!

[@vkjfv]

Every player has a plan until they play away at Burnley on a windy Thursday night

[@kevinabrahammathews4238]

Stop comparinh gim to Halaand. Hojlund is nowhere near the level. His finishing needs a lot of work

[@50shadesofskittles9]

I can't read the names on that graphic. Anyone else? Lol

[@FofXequalsYnot]

Rasmus and Greenwood are similar🔥👌🏾

[@J040PL7]

Not in the slightest, Mason is an inside forward while ramus is a target man.

[@joenerrodriguez433]

I think this kind of video need to be stopped. This is where rival football teams will decipher the team's strategy. Just kidding

[@darthplagueis8886]

A injured one, i´m so fucking mad.

[@hotdog9262]

to me, united doesn`t look like a top four club going into the near future. chelsea finally have a good manager, newcastle is there and liverpool will probably make a partial comeback

[@aj8895]

Are you dilusional with newcastle. You had a point up until you mentioned Newcastle

[@Ghuttora7]

Liverpool with their dodgy right side. Trent is gonna get exposed like mad this season. See what Bayern did?

[@tristman8413]

Chelsea are rocking spurs hand me downs 😂

[@hotdog9262]

@@aj8895 newcastle is moving up in the world. already in CL this season

[@hotdog9262]

I don`t think the first XI of united look very strong. but maybe its wishful thinking^^

[@ANALOGY-YOUNITED]

WE RUN THIS RED APP

[@ryanstewart7400]

Close to Liverpool, who they finished above last season 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@manny6669]

Yeah but Liverpool have title winning experience, so it's not so crazy to say

[@RedDevilDog1207]

Easiest video ever - "How Rasmus will fit"..."playing the 9 of course". End of 😂. That said Dave, Antony and Rashy dont cross the ball so need to play Garnacho and Pellestri more often.

[@SC-CEO]

How frightening will the forward line be when Greenwood also returns?

[@joegoh1968]

Somehow .. he reminds me of the Brazilian Kaka.

[@J040PL7]

They have similar hair stiles 😂

[@humorme2432]

Positioning of Mount is questionable..He is everywhere and often leaning towards left..I dont know how does he fits in this team.If Ambrabat comes in, Casemiro-Ambrabat solid base with 4 man upfront and bruno as CAM could be devastating for opponents.

[@cfadipe2755]

Rotation depending on the team we are playing. Man City do that very effectively. They have a lot of players that play in a similar role and they utilize that to keep players fresh, for competition and for strategy depending on the team. We should aim to build a squad that can achieve that as well.

[@tolkienfan10]

And it still hasn't been determined where Greenwood is playing for this season. Can he redeem himself? Should he be given the chance to?

[@titanman33]

Yes, but somewhere else

[@tolkienfan10]

@@titanman33, I myself, am undecided. Greenwood and his partner recently just announced that they're expecting a baby. I don't believe that there's any excuse for domestic abuse but then, neither do I believe that a woman in this day and age is likely to stay in a relationship if she's being physically abused.

[@IGoulden]

@@tolkienfan10raped. She was raped. On an audio recording. And factually many women remain with their abusers. I know it’s not convenient to those who want him back at all costs but it is the reality.

[@titanman33]

@@tolkienfan10 That's fair, I think let things play out for a season then assess from there. If all stays quiet on the home front, let him compete for first squad minutes. This team has top 4+ written all over it. No room for distractions everyone has to be all in. Just not sure that would be the case with that lot. So...away they go

[@tolkienfan10]

@@titanman33, I think he's been a silly boy. She's not blameless either, mind you. If he was abusing her physically, she should have gotten out of dodge at the first sign but if he did abuse her, he deserves condemnation and should be shipped out of the club. Question is, what really happened? I think if it was an open and shut case, he'd have been charged already.

[@joseph20yearsago61]

Imagine greenwood for antony🔥

[@hondaxyz]

sancho,greenwood and antony would do wonders on that right wing this season.

[@Maj1794]

9 goals last season 😂

[@mosesmwau3223]

How many did Jesus score last season

[@aka_jr]

Unfortunately, more than 9 my friend.

[@jdavid6801]

Scored more than you you couch warmer

[@kenmitchel]

Need to get your facts right mate, he scored 16 in 42 for his clubs last season, and has 6 in 6 for Denmark. Try harder! 👍

[@qasmb1546]

The real haaland was scoring 20 goals a season at that age.

[@willm7994]

Marcus , rasmus, Mason Greenwood, great strike force

[@paultalbot6540]

Dave, have u watched pre season Mount has NOT played advanced towards the right , he’s been more like eriksen and been poor

[@mm2801]

Mounts terrible and bruno from deep provides more problems than benefits despite his "progressive passes" tough season ahead.!

[@stevenf8828]

Id rather have ganacho on the left wing all day

[@ayates18]

Sweaty Dave ! Have a shower before your videos you scruff 😊