What Has Changed For Rasmus Hojlund at Manchester United?

Rasmus Hojlund is all the talk of the town currently. After a tumultuous start to the season, which saw him struggle to find the back of the net in his first 14 Premier League appearances, it seems as if the young Dane has found his groove now, netting 5 goals in his last 5 appearances for the Red Devils.

His most recent finishes against the likes of Aston Villa and West Ham in the Premier League may appear simple at face value, but the bigger picture it weaves is one of a young striker growing confident in his own abilities and merely scratching the surface of his untapped potential.

Hojlund is arguably one of the most in-form strikers in the Premier League currently. His aforementioned recent record speaks for itself. But, what brought about this turnaround in the 21-year-old?

Well, to put it rather simply, he takes higher-quality chances. But, there’s more to it.

To say that Hojlund’s shot conversion rate has been impressive would be a bit of an understatement. In his last five outings for the Red Devils, the Dane has registered just eight shots on goal, converting five of those into fruitful finishes for his side, notching up a staggering conversion rate of 62.5 percent. Compare that to his previous 14 games for United, where the striker failed to convert on any of his 18 chances.

In fact, over the current season, Hojlund has averaged out his shot conversion rate to a formidable 19.2 percent, a number higher than that of say hated rival Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez (10.3 percent) who has found the back of the net 8 times so far this season.

What all these stats speak to is not just his improved finishing inside the box – which is evident – but they are also a reflection of his selectiveness in front of goal. His maturity to position himself and make the best of the better chances rather than take a swipe at all of them. Quality over quantity.  New year new him indeed.

Adding to it all, becoming the second-youngest player to score in five successive Premier League games — behind Nicolas Anelka for Arsenal in 1998 — will probably add to his newfound confidence as well.

But, let us take a step back to the start of the season. Even for those who doubted the unproven Dane’s ability to adapt to the Premier League, one thing was evident: his raw potential.

His blistering pace, coupled with his strength and positional awareness has always posed him to be a potential threat for any defense. But, it has only been of late that the Dane is able to reap the benefits of his labour so far.

United fans may rejoice at Hojlund’s run of form at the moment, but they have plenty of reason to still worry. Because the biggest issue that has plagued the club so far this season continues to rear its ugly head on the field.

A worrying part of United’s play so far has been the lack of support, in terms of goals and assists, that Hojlund has received from his fellow forwards. Especially Marcus Rashford, who has been having a rather measly season himself with regards to both goals and assists.

Rashford’s ‘horse-in-blinders’ style of attacking play tends to result in one of two outcomes: either he produces a moment of wonder and magic, or he just takes a wasteful swipe/dribble at goal. Unluckily for United, the latter seems to be the perceived outcome more often this season from the Englishman. So, establishing a partnership with the blooming Hojlund is of key importance for United to move forward, both on paper and on the field.

On top of it all, United are still the only club in the top six to have zero net goal difference. In fact, the Red Devils finally got over their negative goal difference only in their last fixture against Aston Villa, owing to a sensational Scott McTominay winner.

Another ludicrous fact about the team is that none of their attackers are the top scorer for the club in the Premier League this season so far. It is the aforementioned McTominay, a central midfielder, who is their leading scorer with 7 goals currently through their campaign.

Rather than having Erik Ten Hag rectify the crux of United’s goal-scoring woes, what seems to have transpired is that Hojlund has taken it upon himself to get the job done for the most part. Out of his five goals, none of them were assisted by his fellow wingers, which is a worrisome fact to ponder over.

Whilst the run of form from Hojlund is promising news for United and the striker, one cannot expect the Dane to attain the level of consistency that United require to compete at a high level if the attackers continue to neglect him in the box. Placing Hojlund in dangerous positions and making the most of his skillset would be the course of action Erik Ten Hag would and should ideally be aiming for now.