Ruud van Nistelrooy reveals key area Rasmus Højlund has been ‘working on’ behind the scenes at Man Utd

Ruud van Nistelrooy has revealed a key area which Rasmus Højlund has been ‘working on’ behind the scenes at Manchester United.

Manchester United play against Greek side PAOK in the Europa League on Thursday evening in a must-win game.

The Reds have drawn all three of their European games so far this term, leaving them towards the bottom of the new-look table.

Van Nistelrooy will be hoping to lead the team to victory in his penultimate game in charge before Ruben Amorim takes over on 11 November.

After joining the club as assistant manager in the summer, many were hoping that United’s attacking players could learn important things from the legendary striker.

However, as things stand, the Reds are one of the worst goalscoring teams in the Premier League with many players yet to hit form in front of goal.

“I think when results start to come and confidence will come, that does a million dollars for strikers, you know,” Van Nistelrooy stated during his pre-match interview with TNT Sports.

Rasmus Højlund will be aiming to take responsibility in that aspect after missing the start of the season with injury.

It has been difficult for the Danish striker since he joined the club but even in a difficult environment last term he managed to score 16 goals for the club.

Van Nistelrooy trusts that the 21-year-old will be able to score goals for United due to his ‘natural’ ability to connect with the ball in the box and also reveals that the young forward has been working on his hold-up play behind the scenes at Carrington.

“Rasmus is working a lot on his hold-up play, he’s stronger, he knows what to do in what situation of the game,” the interim manager added.

“And he’s got that bit in the box where he attacks the last line and he connects with crosses. I think it’s a natural thing for him that he has and he will score from that as well.”

Højlund’s hold-up was criticised at times last season but in recent games, including against Chelsea and Brentford, it has looked much-improved.

While the no.9 will be hoping to showcase his ability to link play and connect with the team, he will much prefer being played in on goal to score against PAOK.

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