How Hojlund compares to Haaland as Erik ten Hag targets his Scandinavian striker
He is young, blond, tall, strong, fast, Scandinavian and a striker with a lethal left foot. Even their surnames sound similar.
Comparisons between Rasmus Hojlund and Erling Haaland were inevitable once Manchester United made Hojlund their top target.
United are in talks to sign him from Atalanta, who are using the link to Haaland to demand £86million.
Even the Italian club’s manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, has made the comparison when discussing his player’s attributes.
United are reluctant to spend more than £60m on the Dane after signing Andre Onana for £43m and Mason Mount for £55m.
But while it is way too soon to brand Hojlund as ‘Haaland 2.0’, he has huge potential, so here are the areas where the 20-year-old from Copenhagen can perhaps be likened to City’s super striker.
First, his history. Hojlund cost £15m when Atalanta signed him last summer and he scored nine goals in 32 games in Serie A.
Before that, Sturm Graz paid £1.5m for him and he scored nine goals in 18 games in Austria’s Bundesliga. He previously played for Copenhagen, where he did not score in 19 Danish Superliga games, albeit he only started two of them.
It has been a steady rise since then to become the striker being chased by United, who see somebody with the pace and power to cut it in the Premier League.
For pace, see the goal for Sturm against Salzburg when he powered past the last defender before scoring emphatically, or the time he turned on the afterburners to close down Lecce’s goalkeeper and strike for Atalanta.
For power, see the YouTube compilations of him holding off defenders, including the goal for Atalanta against Spezia when he used his strength and skill to turn and score.
One of Hojlund’s greatest strengths is bursting into areas where he
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