Danish media have delivered a savage verdict on Manchester United striker Rasmus Højlund’s performance for Denmark vs Northern Ireland.
Manchester United had a terrible season last term and it was extremely tough for Rasmus Højlund, who often looked out of his depth leading the line.
He scored just four times in the Premier League across the campaign and in the final few months of the season, it felt like he could barely hold the ball up.
There is speculation over his future but what Højlund needs right now is to be sitting on holiday, not thinking about football whatsoever, and trying to recover from such a confidence-sucking season.
Instead, the 22-year-old is on international duty with Denmark and played in their narrow 2-1 win over Northern Ireland on Saturday evening.
Danish media deliver savage Højlund vs Northern Ireland verdict
Despite his poor form, Højlund was trusted to start the game by Denmark boss Brian Rieme but struggled to have an impact on the match.
During his 65 minutes on the pitch, the United striker completed just five passes, had one touch in the opponents box, registered zero shots and lost all five of his duels.
To add insult to injury his replacement, Mathias Kvistgaarden, was involved in the build-up to Christian Eriksen’s winning goal just two minutes after replacing Højlund.
Danish reporter Kenneth Jensen summed up Højlund’s impact, or lack of, on Tipsbladet, writing: “To be a little harsh, Mathias Kvistgaarden has already had a greater impact in 30 seconds than Rasmus Højlund had in 65 minutes.”
Meanwhile, Lars Gram Hansen provided Højlund with the second-lowest possible rating in the Tibsbladet scale and stated that he should not be starting for Denmark.
“A poor game from the Manchester United player, who showed disappointing technique and committed a number of free kicks,” he wrote. “Never looked dangerous.
“He shouldn’t start for Denmark when he is so far from his peak. Both Mathias Kvistgaarden and Mika Biereth looked better than Højlund when they came on in the second half.”
That now makes it just one goal in his last 15 appearances for the Danish national team for Højlund, who will be very concerned about his spot ahead of the World Cup next year.
Højlund could get fresh start with Inter interested
This all comes soon after several reports have linked Højlund with a move to Inter Milan in the summer transfer window, with the Italian team keen on signing the struggling striker.
United would be open to selling the former Atalanta star but only for the right price and rumours suggest that the Serie A outfit are only able to take him on an initial loan deal.
It has been claimed that the two clubs are set for talks over a potential move, which means a solution may be able to be found which allows the Danish forward to have a fresh start. That seems like exactly what he needs.
For United, they will be searching for a new striker regardless of where Højlund finds himself at the start of the new season, with a move for Sporting goalscorer Viktor Gyökeres looking more likely by the day.
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