Manchester United are still having major issues with scoring goals up top, even after investing heavily in the striker position by signing two of the best up-and-coming forwards in Serie A in each of the past two summer transfer windows: Rasmus Hojlund of Atalanta in 2023 and Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna in 2024.
Zirkzee is pretty clearly not a good fit for Manchester United, and Ruben Amorim hasn’t really hid the fact that he doesn’t see the Dutchman as part of his ideal starting lineup.
But many around Manchester United, including former star striker Dimitar Berbatov, think Amorim could just as easily jettison both young No. 9’s out of Old Trafford this summer if their performances don’t step up soon.
While Hojlund has shown more promise of the two, his positive streaks in front of goal have been too little, and his overall streakiness is preventing him from being an ideal goal-getter for Manchester United up top.
Juventus view Rasmus Hojlund as their top target
Manchester United have a long tradition of great strikers, and their best periods have been when they are led by legitimate 20-goal threats like Berbatov, Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ruud van Nistelrooy, and even, briefly, Robin van Persie.
Hojlund is more of an all-arounder. He made a name for himself as a breakout star in Bergamo for his ability to dribble past defenders with uncanny agility and explosiveness with his 6’3″ frame, but he wasn’t nearly the finished product as a goal-scorer either in terms of finishing or positional attributes.
At the time, his move to Manchester United was too big, too soon with the pressure of Old Trafford, playing for a dysfunctional club, and going to a Premier League that doesn’t seem to fit his attributes as well as Serie A.
Now, Tuttosport’s Stefano Salandin is reporting that Juventus have made Hojlund their No. 1 attacking target. Current Atalanta stars Mateo Retegui and Ademola Lookman are other options, but they are only seen as alternatives to Hojlund.
Juve should have signed Zirkzee or Hojlund
In all honesty, staying at Atalanta for another season would have been the best course of action for Hojlund, followed by remaining in Serie A as a whole with a move to Juventus.
Hojlund is better as a supporting striker who works hard and creates chances with the additional upside of scoring around 10 goals per season as a supplemental option, rather than being shoehorned in as the leading scorer.
At Juventus, Hojlund could have been the person to play alongside Dusan Vlahovic, who can be the leading man but needs to play with a dynamic, industrious striker who will run the channels and take players on.
In truth, Juventus should have ended up with either Hojlund or Zirkzee instead of Manchester United rather laughably signing both and ending up with two players who fit neither their team nor league – and aren’t solving their main problem of goals.
Manchester United should bring in Gyokeres or Osimhen
Just 22 years old, Hojlund can still potentially have a future with Manchester United, but only if the Red Devils pair him with a striker like Viktor Gyokeres or Victor Osimhen.
And even then, it may be better for Manchester United to simply sign one striker up top, build a team of wingers and playmakers around him, and then sell Hojlund to a big club like Juventus that can give back a majority of the initial 72 million pounds they rather unwisely invested in the Danish international.
It’s a roundabout way of getting Hojlund to the situation he should have already been in by now, while allowing Manchester United to move on to a striker who suits them better.
Joe Soriano covers Tottenham for FanSided’s Hotspur HQ and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.