Manchester United are planning to sign another striker this summer after the difficulties Rasmus Højlund has experienced as the main centre-forward.
One of the biggest problems at Manchester United this season has been the lack of reliable goalscorers in the team, with Rasmus Højlund struggling up front.
United signed Højlund from Atalanta in the summer of 2023 and he was immediately the first-choice striker, with Anthony Martial experiencing injury problems across the season.
After scoring 16 goals in all competitions, United fans felt like the Danish forward would step up to the next level this term but he has instead looked to go backwards.
Joshua Zirkzee joined the club but it soon became clear that he was not a natural no.9 and Højlund has continued to dominate minutes in the frontline but his form has worsened as the campaign approaches the end.
Signing a new striker this summer is a crucial piece of business the club need to do, with Liam Delap seeming like the front-runner ahead of the summer.
Højlund sends unsurprising message about United signing a striker
There is a lot of criticism coming Højlund’s way at the moment due to his form but many United fans are also annoyed that the 22-year-old was forced to be the main striker at United from the moment he entered the door.
Højlund has admitted that it hasn’t been easy being relied upon from the moment he joined the club, and that more help from Martial in that debut campaign wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.
In all, Højlund’s comments give an unsurprising answer to his stance on the club signing a new centre-forward this summer – he will appreciate it, just like many supporters have suggested.
“You can put it in two ways – you can do it like you say [learn from other players] or you can be thrown in like I’ve been,” Hojlund told TNT Sports. “I think you gain experience from both ways.
“I’m obviously not going to sit here and say I don’t want to play, but then again, last year Anthony [Martial] was there and he played here for loads of years, but he was unlucky and got injuries, so I had to take a lot of the game time.
“That [Martial playing] could have been nice, especially in the beginning, because I was new and had to learn my way to be a United player, get used to these facilities and find a house and it would have been nice to have a bit of support.”
We must focus on United leaders when looking at Højlund’s struggles
It is easy to forget that Højlund is still only 22 and there are many top level strikers right now who would have been having similar struggles at his age. The difference is that they weren’t in the United spotlight, with no other options to turn to.
Højlund should really not be starting the upcoming Europa League final. He is in dire form and looks like he has no confidence whatsoever on the pitch. He will probably start the game because there are no other natural strikers – is that his fault?
It’s really not, and there should be more attention on those in charge at Old Trafford for how his time at United has been. As a backup striker to a more experienced player, he would have likely had much smoother development.
Hopefully the experiences of Højlund will be a lesson to the hierarchy ahead of this summer that you cannot rely on young players to come in and make a significant difference without that senior quality alongside them.
Even Leny Yoro, who has had a solid debut campaign at the club, has been working alongside a defensive unit which includes some very experienced players. Højlund simply has not had that.
Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is streamed live every Thursday at 12:30 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.