Red Devils legend Dwight Yorke has revealed his rating for one Manchester United star’s overall season under Erik ten Hag after admitting the player “started to progress.”
Erik ten Hag signed off Manchester United’s up-and-down season last weekend by securing the FA Cup trophy at Wembley.
The Red Devils produced a stunning performance in the FA Cup final and beat Premier League champions Manchester City 2-1 last Saturday.
However, United boss Erik ten Hag endured a turbulent 2023-24 season, with his first-team squad hit with injuries and underwhelming in the Premier League.
The Red Devils will be without Champions League football for next season after failing to secure a top-four finish, with United ending the campaign in eighth place.
United will have European football for the 2024-25 season after the FA Cup earned Ten Hag’s men qualification to the Europa League.
Yorke has sympathy for Man Utd star
Dwight Yorke, who lifted a treble under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, admitted that he has sympathy for Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund.
Rasmus Hojlund arrived at Old Trafford last summer after United agreed to a hefty £72m deal to sign him from Serie A side Atalanta.
The 21-year-old Danish forward impressed during the Champions League, with Hojlund scoring five times in six appearances for the Red Devils.
However, Hojlund endured a tough start to life in the Premier League and went his first 14 league matches without finding the back of the net for United.
The Denmark international finally broke his goalscoring drought before the end of 2023 against Aston Villa in a 3-2 comeback win at Old Trafford.
Yorke admitted that he had to “research” who Hojlund was when he signed for the club, adding that the ex-Atalanta man had to play “under difficult circumstances.”
“He came in and he was an unknown – I had no idea who he was,” he told FourFourTwo magazine.
“But he came to United and I had to do my research to find out who he is.
“I sympathised with the kid, coming in at 21 under difficult circumstances, where a team is not playing particularly great – not in good form.
“Where United is as a football club means that all the odds have been against him.”
Yorke drops rating for Hojlund’s season
Rasmus Hojlund enjoyed a rich vein of form at the start of 2024 and the United star scored six times in five consecutive Premier League matches.
However, the Denmark international’s scintillating run came to an end in February due to an injury, with Hojlund struggling for form upon his return.
Hojlund rediscovered part of his form towards the end of the season, with the United striker scoring in his last two Premier League matches.
The Denmark star came off the bench and scored against Newcastle in a 3-2 win at Old Trafford before making an impact as a sub in the 2-0 win over Brighton.
Yorke suggested that Hojlund’s debut season at Old Trafford was “average” and he would score him “between five and six” out of a 10 rating.
“I think now, looking back at the end of the season where he’s scored the goals that he’s scored, he’s done OK,” he said.
“You look at some of the strikers that have come in before him and it’s been a bit of a striker’s graveyard. So, it will have been a bit of a daunting challenge for him.
“He struggled at the beginning but towards the back end of the season he started to progress.
“So, I think I would give him an average score. I’d score him in that bracket between five and six out of 10, with potential to improve, I would say.”