The rapid rise of Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund is a ‘fantastic story’ with the Denmark international already making quite the impact at the Premier League giants.
While he’d already caught the eye in Italy with a couple of well-taken finishes for Atalanta, it was in the red and white of Denmark where Rasmus Hojlund really announced himself to a wider audience.
Manchester United’s £64 million summer signing marked his first international start with a hat-trick against Scandinavian neighbours Finland. It wasn’t just the number of goals, however, but the manner of them which really marked Hojlund out as a centre-forward of genuinely elite potential.
Take his first of the night, for instance. Darting to the near post before executing the most subtle yet effective of finishes, guiding the ball across the goal and into the far corner.
Rasmus Hojlund a hit for Man United and Denmark
A relative late-bloomer on the international scene – he only made his debut 13 months ago – the technical director of the Danish FA insists that Hojlund is an example for other young players hoping to follow in his footsteps.
“It is a fantastic story about how, as a player, you have to keep your nose in the groove and work hard. And, even if you are not selected early, you can still have a fantastic career in the national team,” Kenneth Heiner-Moller tells TV2.
“A year before Hojlund scored a hat-trick against Finland, he was not even in the starting line-up of the U21 national team. And, as I recall, it was up for discussion whether he should have been included at all!”
Heiner-Moller is not the one pleasantly surprised by the speed of Hojlund’s ascent, the striker going from Sturm Graz to Manchester United in the space of just over a year while setting his respective employers back over £80 million in the progress.
‘It’s crazy’
“It’s crazy! It’s crazy, because there aren’t many people who take such a fast path forward,” smiles William Boving, who worked with a teenage Hojlund at Sturm Graz (BOLD). “But it’s really good, and he’s taken the chances he’s been given.
“He is a big boy who makes good use of his gifts.
“(Sturm Graz) are impressed. They think it’s crazy, because they got a player from FC Copenhagen who first got his breakthrough in Sturm Graz, and the journey after that has been lightning fast and good.”
With six, Hojlund and Man United team-mate Scott McTominay are joint-second in the race to be named top scorer in UEFA’s European Championship qualifiers.
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