Struggling Hojlund toils as goal drought goes on

Sunday’s two FA Cup ties proved a tale of two strikers as Danny Welbeck flourished where Rasmus Hojlund floundered.

Welbeck, a man once deemed as not good enough by United, fired his Brighton side into the quarter finals with a stunning breakaway finish deep into extra-time at St James Park. It was his eighth goal of the season, one more than United’s £72m man who has now gone three months without one.

A three-month, eighteen game goal drought amounting to over 1,000 minutes is an extraordinary barren spell for any centre-forward. Let alone a striker leading the line in the Premier League for one of the most famous names in football. But it’s not just the lack of goals as even the very best strikers can have fallow spells – Robin van Persie once went thirteen matches without finding the net.

It’s not as if Hojlund is doing everything right except scoring. It’s not as if he’s peppering the opposition keeper and upright, and only bad luck is keeping him out. He’s not even showing the basics of centre-forward play right now: holding the ball up, making runs, unlocking a defence with a silky piece of skill, or getting in a good position for an assist or goal. He isn’t occupying the centre backs to create space for others. He is so far below what you’d expect from even the most rudimentary of strikers in a lower league side, it is almost like United are playing with ten men.

Rasmus isn’t the only one toiling: Alejandro Garnacho hasn’t scored since Bodo/Glimt in November and Joshua Zirkzee has two goals since December. It’s a sorry state of affairs for United’s soporific strike force and our 33 league goals is the sixth lowest in the league. Only the bottom three clubs, Everton and West Ham have scored fewer. 

But at least Messrs Garnacho and Zirkzee are impacting games, and contributing to the team. Garnacho makes things happen and Zirkzee’s unique skillset is an asset to the side. Even when they’re not scoring, strikers can still influence a game and make a difference. The same cannot be said of Hojlund who has looked bereft of confidence and belief.

Last term was Hojlund’s first at Old Trafford following his move from Atalanta. His 16 goals in 43 games was a decent return for a young striker on his own up front in a system where he was continually starved of service. But the promise of that debut season has gradually eviscerated, to the point where his future at United is already looking uncertain. Hojlund only had one shot – an effort wide of the post from a Christian Eriksen cross – and struggled to make an impact.

Of course, he has time on his side. He has only just turned 22 and most strikers don’t peak until their mid-to-late 20s so his best years are still ahead of him.

No disrespect to Welbeck but the fact a 34-year-old who left United eleven years ago would be our best striker in 2025 is both embarrassing and damning. He is outperforming Hojlund in every metric and would walk back into our team. I would take a 50-something Andy Cole right now.

So is Hojlund the reason for Manchester United’s struggles, or the victim of it?

With United chasing an equaliser against Fulham, Ruben Amorim turned to 17-year-old Chido Obi Martin with Hojlund withdrawn after 68 minutes of next to nothing. Obi offered more in his cameo appearance than Hojlund has for weeks. It it beginning to appear as though Amorim himself is losing faith in a player he inherited, even if the Portuguese manager has publicly backed him. 

There can be sympathy for the Dane: service was again at a premium with United’s depleted ranks missing the cut and thrust of the injured Amad and loaned out Marcus Rashford. Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot, full-backs moonlighting in wing-back roles, provided no attacking threat whatsoever. Any striker in world football would struggle in this United side.

Hojlund has averaged 1.5 shots per game over the season and just 3.5 touches in the opposition penalty area. There is nowhere to hide and no rotation option; Obi Martin isn’t ready to start regularly and has not been registered for Europe.

But too often, Hojlund allowed himself to be bullied by compatriot Joachim Andersen and centre-back partner Calvin Bassey.  There is no denying his effort and work rate but it was far too easy for Fulham to defend against.
United signed Hojlund as a player for the future. The powers-that-be were convinced he would become a world class striker in the mould of Erling Haaland. He has not fulfilled that and has shown only glimpses of his pace and power – his confidence now looks shattered.

Hojlund’s last Premier League goal came against Nottingham Forest on December 7^th. Five days later he stepped off the bench to strike twice in Europe against Plzen and has not found the net since. Five of his seven goals have come in the Europa League with only two on the home front.

He never looked like getting in a position to score against Fulham and is not the type of player to drop deep and get involved as Welbeck does, starting many of Brighton’s attacks from deep.
Hojlund is getting no help from the rest of the squad as they struggle with their own pressures and problems. He needs an experienced arm around the shoulder like he would if he was playing in the side of Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Paul Scholes et al.

As his team-mates collectively continue to toil, Hojlund's individual malaise has become a huge worry for Amorim's United.