FEATURE | Why Rasmus Højlund is more of an investment for Manchester United
Manchester United are about to announce the signing of Atalanta striker Rasmus Højlund (20) and GIFN’s Jurre van Wanrooij explains why the move is more of an investment than a direct reinforcement.
Rasmus Højlund is the real deal. The Danish wonderkid is strong, quick and has excellent hold-up play. He has already showcased this in his first season at Atalanta, who picked him up for a little bit over €17M at Sturm Graz in the Austrian top flight. His numbers in Austria were enough to convince Atalanta Sporting Director Tony D’Amico to splash the cash.
The 20-year-old needed some time to settle in Italy and also had to fight Duván Zapata for the spot up top. He gained coach Gian Piero Gasperini’s trust and started showing that he was more than worth that 17M pricetag. His talent became evident immediately and as time went on his numbers started to catch up as well. I don’t think I even have to mention the amount of goals Højlund scored, because everyone has been seeing them millions of times now since the Manchester United links started.
For the people that have been able to avoid the countless comparisons with other strikers like Erling Haaland, Højlund ended up with ‘only’ nine goals in Serie A last season. Some of that comes down to the Dane’ slow start, but more importantly, Højlund offers way more than just goals. He’s strong, quick, has good hold-up play and works hard. He’s a very active striker, always involved and not afraid to get his hands dirty. Højlund also gained a lot of attention during the International break in March when he scored five goals against Finland and Kazachstan in the Euro’s qualification.
However, Højlund is also still very raw. The Danish striker is a work in progress. All the
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