Andy Cole has picked out a flaw in Rasmus Hojlund’s game that could be affecting his Manchester United form.
Since arriving from Atalanta in a £72m deal last summer, Hojlund has enjoyed patches of good form but failed to find any real consistency.
The 2003-born centre-forward has netted 14 goals across all competitions, which is a commendable tally in his debut season.
However, Cole thinks he has an ‘obsession’ in his game which could be stunting his development.
Andy Cole says Rasmus Hojlund needs to stop engaging with defenders
Cole, speaking on the Rest is Football podcast, noted that Hojlund has an ‘obsession’ with engaging in tussles with centre-backs and believes he’s not playing ‘freely’.
“Watching him again on Saturday, because the game has changed so much, he has an obsession in wanting to fight the centre half,” the former United man said.
“You don’t need to. Not in the modern game. Back in the day when it got sparky, yeah. But now he has this obsession where he’s got to fight, I’ve got to know where he is, I’ve got to have a little tussle with him. He’s fighting and tussling so much he doesn’t get hold of the ball. Just play freely.”
It’s an interesting observation from Cole and one that may well be affecting his attacking output.
Rasmus Hojlund is still learning
Evidently, aged just 21, Hojlund is still learning his trade as a centre-forward and what Cole picked up on is something he’ll likely learn and improve from.
The Denmark international is clearly a talented player and has every finish in his toolbox, so he just needs to work on his game without the ball, including his movement.
Notwithstanding that, 14 goals in his first season at United is still an impressive total and that could double next term with a few tweaks to his game.