Erik ten Hag has held talks with Rasmus Hojlund recently ahead of a possible summer transfer from Atalanta to Manchester United....CONTINUE READING
A striker is Manchester United’s number one priority in the upcoming summer transfer window and Erik ten Hag is a big fan of Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund.
With Anthony Martial’s injury issues making him an unreliable option and Wout Weghorst struggling to score, United have been left underwhelmed by their striker options this season.
Harry Kane remains United’s preferred addition but are pressing ahead with other options on the assumption that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will not sell Kane to a Premier League rival. Denmark international Hojlund has impressed for Atalanta and Denmark this season, and Ten Hag has been in contact with the striker over a potential move to England.
So, if United were to sign Hojlund, could the striker solve United’s striker problem? Let’s take a look.
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2023 editor to arrange for Hojlund to join United on July 1, 2023, using FM23 to run the simulation. We then simulated the entire 2023/24 season to see how the Denmark international could perform.
With the youngster lacking experience, Ten Hag opted to rotate the striker with Martial throughout the season, a decision that worked well as the latter avoid any long-term injuries. In his first season at United, Hojlund impressed, making 43 appearances across all competitions.
22 of those appearances were starts, whilst the other 21 came from the bench with Ten Hag always looking to the 20-year-old when in need of a goal. His best competition was the Champions League, where the striker grabbed five goals and one assist in 10 appearances.
Six of his goals came in the Premier League where he managed most of his appearances, whilst his other goal came in the Carabao Cup. Across all competitions, Hojlund grabbed 12 goals and managed an average rating of 7 per game, making him one of the highest scorers in the squad.
Bruno Fernandes led the goalscoring chart, grabbing 23 goals and beating Marcus Rashford to the golden boot by one. Martial netted 13 times across the season when rotating with Hojlund, with the duo proving great assets up top for Ten Hag.
At the end of the 2023/24 season, Football Manager 2023 put together an overall best United XI, based on performances, statistics and other metrics. This is what United’s best XI looked like at the end of the 2023/24 season as predicted by Football Manager 2023:
Full United best XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.
Despite scoring less than Martial, Hojlund’s higher average rating saw him make the United best XI, leading the front line ahead of Rashford, Fernandes and Antony. Aaron Wan-Bissaka beat Diogo Dalot to the right-back spot, with the English defender averaging the fourth-best rating in the United squad in a rejuvenated season.
For the majority of the 2023/24 season, United were in the Premier League title race, staying hot on the heels of Manchester City and Liverpool until the final few games of the season. But, a poor end to their campaign saw Ten Hag’s side drop out of the title race, with United finishing in fourth place.
19 wins, 10 draws and nine losses saw United pick up 67 points in the 2023/24 season, seven points fewer than the season just gone. But, five losses and three draws came in the last 11 games of the season, with Ten Hag ending the season under pressure.
United still managed Champions League qualification, but they were unable to win any trophies like in Ten Hag’s first season, with the semi-finals the furthest they went in any competition. Julian Alvarez came off the bench in the FA Cup semi-final to score a brace and secure a 3-1 win for City over United as Pep Guardiola’s side won the quadruple in the simulation.
After a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford in the first leg, United fell to a 3-2 defeat against AC Milan in the second, losing 7-6 on aggregate in the Champions League quarter-finals. And lastly, an early exit came in the Carabao Cup, with Ten Hag’s side being knocked out in the fourth round after a shock 2-1 loss to Middlesbrough.
Overall, FM23 predicts that if Hojlund moved to United, the youngster could have a very impressive first season, scoring 12 goals as he settled at Old Trafford. The Denmark international offered a bigger threat than the current options in Ten Hag’s squad, and in the long term, he can only get better.