(Reuters) – According to Manchester United’s manager Erik ten Hag, Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund, who is yet to score in the Premier League, is still being backed to break his duck. He was brought in from Atalanta for a fee of 72 million pounds ($91.61 million) after scoring 16 goals last season. Even though he was the top scorer for United in the Champions League group stage, he has not been able to find the net in 13 appearances in the Premier League.
Ten Hag spoke to reporters ahead of the team’s trip to West Ham United, expressing confidence in Hojlund’s mentality and ability to perform under stress. He also emphasized that the team’s struggle in scoring is not solely on Hojlund but on other key players as well, including Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, and Scott McTominay.
United have failed to score in their last three games, including losses to Bournemouth and Bayern Munich and a goalless draw at Liverpool. Ten Hag acknowledges the need for improvement and believes that the entire team needs to step up, not just one player.
As the Dutch manager looks to improve the team’s standing in the league, he also has to contend with injuries and illnesses within the squad, affecting key players such as Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Mason Mount, Harry Maguire, and Victor Lindelof.
“We have some doubts, some illnesses during the week so we have to see who is available for tomorrow. Hopefully, they are recovered, but we have to see,” he said. “Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez are not available before Christmas, so mid-January we expect them back. Mason Mount is similar, into January. Harry Maguire, I expect him earlier and Victor Lindelof is not available. He has had surgery, so he will be out for a couple of weeks.”
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(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
