Sunday’s defeat to West Ham United proved one more Premier League outing by which Manchester United did not get on the scoresheet, with that 2-0 loss marking the 14th time that the Crimson Devils have not scored in a top-flight recreation this season.
A key crux of the problem is the woes of main quantity 9, Rasmus Hojlund, with final time period’s prime scorer in all competitions having netted simply 4 league objectives up to now, whereas boasting simply ten in complete throughout all fronts.
On the weekend, the struggling Dane inexplicably did not convert from point-blank vary, having been denied by the sprawling Alphonse Areola, with the previous Atalanta man unable to show that he could be a 20-goal-a-season striker for an elite membership.
That stated, there stays the shortage of service that the 22-year-old is being supplied with, having truly solely missed six ‘massive possibilities’ within the league in 2024/25. For context, Ollie Watkins leads the best way within the division with 26 massive possibilities missed, albeit whereas having scored on 16 events.
A person who additionally ranks a hundred and eightieth within the league for pictures per 90, at a mean of simply 1.52, Hojlund merely is not being given the possibilities. Nor, nonetheless, is he in a position to vogue them for himself.
|
Rasmus Hojlund – PL report |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat (*per recreation) |
23/24 |
24/25 |
|
Video games (begins) |
30 (25) |
30 (21) |
|
Objectives |
10 |
4 |
|
Huge possibilities missed |
13 |
6 |
|
Purpose frequency |
217min |
463min |
|
Assists |
2 |
0 |
|
Huge possibilities created |
0 |
3 |
|
Key passes* |
0.9 |
0.5 |
|
Move accuracy* |
77% |
78% |
|
Complete duels gained* |
38% |
29% |
|
Possession misplaced* |
6.6 |
6.1 |
Both method, after two years in Manchester, the £64m signing simply is not slicing it. A brand new centre-forward must be the precedence this summer season.
Newest on Man Utd’s striker search
After signing Hojlund and £36.5m man, Joshua Zirkzee, throughout the final two summers, the Crimson Devils will as soon as once more head right into a switch window in search of a brand new striker, with a reunion with Sporting CP’s Viktor Gyokeres having been mooted for Ruben Amorim.
Elsewhere, in the meantime, the Outdated Trafford facet have reportedly proven an curiosity in RB Leipzig starlet, Benjamin Sesko, in addition to exiled Napoli ace, Victor Osimhen, albeit with competitors more likely to be rife for that trio.
The identical is also stated of a person who seems to be United’s main goal at current, within the type of Ipswich City talisman, Liam Delap, with journalist Ben Jacobs suggesting that Amorim and co are “optimistic” of successful the race for his signature, ought to they win the Europa League.
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Certainly, Jacobs goes on to notice that United and rivals Chelsea are the 2 golf equipment at the moment main the race for the 22-year-old, with these at Outdated Trafford stated to have already made a “sturdy pitch” to the Englishman.
Out there for simply £30m, amid the presence of a relegation clause in his Portman Street contract, the suggestion is that INEOS have the means to have the ability to signal Delap in addition to Matheus Cunha, thus offering two ready-made, Premier League choices.
Whereas there could also be doubts over whether or not Delap is just simply one other Hojlund, as a younger, comparatively unproven addition, maybe United ought to look to the previous for purpose for encouragement.
Why Man Utd might be set to repeat Carlos Tevez success
Amid the names being circulated at current, comparable to Gyokeres and Osimhen, it will be underwhelming in a way to finish up with Delap, a participant who solely scored eight objectives within the Championship final season for Hull Metropolis.
Even this time period, the England U21 worldwide has chipped in with a good, albeit unspectacular return of 12 league objectives for the Tractor Boys, having been unable to steer Kieran McKenna’s facet to security.
And but, the case of a sure Carlos Tevez might supply a way of optimism for these of a United persuasion, with the Argentine maverick – who was simply 23 on the time – having additionally been plucked from a struggling facet again in 2007, following what was additionally his first season at Premier League stage.
Equally, it wasn’t as if the now-retired star had truly ripped it up all through that 2006/07 marketing campaign for West Ham United, having ended the season with simply seven league objectives, after solely breaking his duck for the Hammers in early March.
Signed on an preliminary two-year mortgage deal by Sir Alex Ferguson that summer season, Tevez – who scored towards United on the ultimate day to maintain the Irons within the division – went on to type a part of a devastating frontline alongside Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo over the subsequent two years, with the trio notably steering the membership to Champions League glory in 2008.
In all, the previous Boca Juniors man would rating 34 objectives in 99 video games underneath Ferguson’s watch, previous to his controversial exit to Manchester Metropolis in 2009, having notably stood out resulting from his relentless work ethic. As Ferguson famous, he was “like a terrier” in his pomp when main the road.
Whereas a much more imposing presence at 6 foot 1, Delap does additionally boast that workman-like, all-action strategy as a centre-forward, having been lauded as a “wrecking ball” by Sky Sports activities’ Lewis Jones.
Additionally dubbed a “enormous expertise” by soccer expertise scout Jacek Kulig, the previous Manchester Metropolis asset seems to relish the battle on the prime finish of the pitch, having repeatedly tussled with Harry Maguire throughout United’s 3-2 win over Ipswich earlier this 12 months.
In fact, the younger Tevez walked right into a facet that already contained world-class skills, whereas Delap, against this, could be anticipated to tackle a number one function in Amorim’s 3-4-3 set-up.
That stated, for the Englishman to have impressed as a part of a struggling outfit, very like Tevez did at West Ham, does bode effectively for the influence he could make in Manchester, not least having already been examined towards Premier League opposition.
Whether or not or not the promising striker does find yourself at Outdated Trafford, this can be a determination that Amorim and co merely cannot afford to get unsuitable.
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