Hojlund injury leaves ten Hag worried. Aren’t enough strikers for Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag has stood by his choice to hold off on adding more attacking reinforcements after Rasmus Hojlund’s injury prevented Manchester United from having a reliable center forward for as long as three weeks.
In Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Luton Town, United’s £72 million summer acquisition scored for the sixth time in as many Premier League games. However, Hojlund, 21, a striker from Denmark, is going to miss the team’s next three games. Hojlund won’t be available for Saturday’s league match at home against Fulham, Wednesday’s FA Cup fifth-round match at Nottingham Forest, and March 3rd’s Manchester derby at City.
In his thirty appearances for United in every competition after joining on a five-year contract from Serie A team Atalanta, he has scored thirteen goals. The news of Hojlund’s injury coincides with Anthony Martial, United’s other center striker, who is recovering from surgery on his groin last month, which is going to keep him out until April. Relying on Martial appeared risky, considering his inconsistent form and fitness over the previous two seasons.
Wout Weghorst, a forward for Burnley, was joined by United on loan in January 2023, but in his 31 games, the Dutchman managed just two goals.
Ten Hag claims that Martial’s lack of additional backup at Old Trafford was due to a mix of things he had witnessed from the player on the field, the former Monaco player’s pay, and the broader Financial Fair Play constraints brought about by United’s recent big expenditure in the transfer market.
Ten Hag responded bluntly when it was stated that Martial was not a player whose availability might have been relied upon and that backup plans ought to have been made in the summer.
“That is extremely naive,” the Dutchman continued. “Strikers aren’t inexpensive. We argued that we had choices.
“However, I was interested in putting in a striker in the winter when it [the martial injury] developed, but it didn’t seem feasible. Similar to this were the issues we previously had with FFP in the summer: ” There was a severe lack of excellent options. For this reason, we were thrilled to acquire Rasmus Hojlund, a Manchester United-caliber player.”
With a total of eight goals this season in every competition, Scott McTominay is the second-highest goalscorer for the team, trailing only Hojlund. Luke Shaw, a left back for United, also went down previously in the week with a leg injury that might sideline him for months. Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and Lisandro Martinez are also out.
