15 December 2023 , 11:05
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Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has received sympathy from Premier League winner Chris Sutton, who puts the forward's lack of goals down to poor service.
The 20-year-old was signed from Atalanta this summer in a deal that cost the Red Devils a whopping £72million, but more than four months on Hojlund is still waiting for his first Premier League goal. Though some feel the Denmark international himself is to blame, others - like Sutton, blame it on United's wingers.
Speaking on Mail Sport's podcast, Sutton explained how performances from wide players like Antony have hardly helped Hojlund's cause. United have found goals hard to come by so far this term, with Erik ten Hag's side scoring the lowest amount of any of the top 15 sides in the table.
"I don't want to keep going back to Manchester United, but we watched Hojlund the other night, I felt really sorry for him," Sutton claimed. "I feel really sorry for him. He looks like a player that is a little bit low on confidence now, but I don't think that he has an understanding of how he can score a goal at Manchester United because the wide players want the ball for themselves.
"Antony, the other night, never got his head up. Pass, follow, link-up – there aren't combinations. And that's a massive issue."
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Sutton isn't the only one who feels Hojlund is suffering at the hands of his team-mates. Arsenal legend Ian Wright claimed that the striker should be "pulling up" Diogo Dalot over the lack of quality in service during last week's 3-0 home defeat by Bournemouth.
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Rasmus Hojlund is still awaiting his first Premier League goal (Oli Scarff/AFP)After analysing one piece of play that saw Dalot snub the run of Hojlund, Wright told Match of the Day: “For me, it was when I saw… It was [Diogo] Dalot, and at 1-0 and we are talking about Hojlund’s come on now and he wants his chance.
“This is good play from them, He gets in, he’s got to square this, he’s got to square it to him. I think there’s a total lack of respect for him, he doesn’t even acknowledge [him]… look at him he’s had a shot from the most ridiculous angle, he’s upset with himself.
"But he doesn’t even look for Hojlund, has a ridiculous shot and then Bournemouth scored a minute later, Hojlund has got to be pulling him up in the dressing room about that, he’s got to say ‘come on’."
The sentiments of Wright and Sutton were echoed by former United assistant coach Rene Meulensteen, who took aim at Antony and Alejandro Garnacho when analysing Hojlund's struggles. The Dutchman insisted neither of the wide duo have any intention to link up with the centre-forward.
"I thought he [Hojlund] was way short [against Bayern]. Against those defenders, he never got a kick," Meulensteen told talkSPORT, reflecting on Tuesday's 1-0 loss against the German giants.
"But the problem is he is flanked by two individual players [Antony and Garnacho] who have no intention to give him any kind of service because they want to create things for themselves and not help any striker.
"So there’s an imbalance, and that imbalance is going forward but also going back in terms of the defensive shape which we’ve seen in so many games."