Man Utd legend says £85k-p/w Red should be angrier at his teammates, it’s time to start ‘arguing’

Since returning from injury against Crystal Palace last month, Rasmus Hojlund has netted twice in his first six appearances of the campaign. 

In only three of those outings was the Dane deployed from the off, having been gradually reintegrated into the fold following his lengthy hamstring setback over the summer.

His injury record does leave a lot to be desired when analysing the matches he’s missed since joining Manchester United in a £72 million move from Atalanta in the summer of 2023, so he’ll now be hoping to kick on and enjoy a pain-free rest of the season. 

On numerous occasions has Hojlund come under fire for his lack of contributions, particularly when he was made to wait until Boxing Day to open his Premier League account in his maiden campaign. He did, however, already have five Champions League goals to his name at the time.

Similarly, the forward’s teammates have been widely criticised for their lack of service to their No.9. Alejandro Garnacho and Antony, when the latter was actually playing games, were frequently labelled greedy after instances last season where they would choose to shoot instead of playing in Hojlund, who was often lingering in the box awaiting his chance to pounce. 

It’s time for Hojlund to start demanding more from his teammates, says ex-Red

Dimitar Berbatov believes history is already repeating itself since the 21-year-old has made his long-awaited return to the fold. After watching the Reds in action in recent matches, he has spotted passages of play in which Hojlund’s darting runs have been missed or ignored by his attacking counterparts, leaving him to grow disheartened.

“I think as a striker he needs to be more demanding and arguing,” the Bulgarian told Rio Ferdinand on his ‘FIVE’ podcast.

“Not being so nice and just pushing the buttons of some of the players around him. Like, ‘Give me the ball’, asking for the ball, when the ball is not coming because I can see that he was doing some runs behind the defence and then nobody was seeing him. That should make you angry – you have a point to be angry after this one.”