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6 months ago
37 Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher believes Rasmus Hojlund should have postponed his move to Manchester United for the good of his career.
Carragher, who rarely has a good thing to say about United, loves nothing more than talking about our club during our struggles.
The old adage has it that we’re never more than six feet away from a rat, like Carragher is never more than a soundbite for a podcast.
Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast, Carragher explained he felt bad for Rasmus Hojlund due to the position he finds himself in.
“I feel a bit sorry for Hojlund, he’s a young lad, the jump he has made is probably a bit too much for him to start with,” Carragher said, as per the Manchester Evening News.
“He should have gone somewhere else for two years then to United maybe. I just feel sorry for him.”
These things are very easy to say in hindsight, of course. United have had a terrible season but fans did question whether Hojlund was ready to take the responsibility of being the team’s only centre-forward?
The 21-year-old has done reasonably well in his first season at Old Trafford, scoring 14 goals from 39 appearances, with injuries having restricted his game time. He is also a young player trying to adapt to a new league – and not just any league, the biggest in the world.
It’s a lot of responsibility on such a young player. Hojlund has done well and I hope he develops accordingly.
Erik ten Hag was forced or naive to rely on Anthony Martial as a back-up selection. My guess is forced – given how the Glazers have run the club over the past 18-years. We know that previous managers didn’t get their preferred targets but paid the price for it in the end.
However, Hojlund cannot be blamed for jumping at the opportunity to sign for the biggest club in the world. He remains a crucial part of our project going forward and is one of few players fans will be happy to keep at Old Trafford.
Carragher also weighed in on Antony, saying: “Do you know why this winds me up [players putting their hands over their mouths and speaking to each other]?
“On Monday Night Football, you are watching on the normal TV that everyone is watching. [In the] second half, Manchester United counterattacked, and Antony played a ball through to Hojlund, there is a bit of a mix up and Antony threw his arms at Hojlund.
“They go back and defend a corner and he is still doing it; I hate that. When Antony was coming off, I knew what he was talking about. He is talking about one of the players, he’s talking about the manager. He is not talking about where they [the players] are going.
“I hate all of that whispering when you have had a bad defeat. They are talking about someone, and I am not having that. You can imagine the coach on the way home and on the plane. Hojlund is probably sat there thinking everyone is talking about him.”
Antony has managed just three goals and two assists this season across all competitions.
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