Rasmus Hojlund injury absence as Man Utd's "next Cristiano Ronaldo" identified
After a solid run of results to lift themselves back into Champions League contention, Manchester United will host Fulham this weekend without the services of one of their key players.
Rasmus Hojlund has hit a rich vein of form, scoring in each of the last five league games. United still sit outside the top four, but Aston Villa - who Erik ten Hag's side have beaten home and away - are at least within reach.
If they want to secure a fifth successive league victory, they'll need to do it without the Dane, though. Hojlund will miss the game through injury, and that's unlikely to be the only fixture he sits out.
We've got the latest on Hojlund, as well as a change to the coaching staff at Old Trafford and some positivity around a potential heir to Cristiano Ronaldo. Here are Mirror Football's latest lines on Manchester United.
Extent of Hojlund's absence confirmed
Rasmus Hojlund won't just miss Saturday's meeting with Fulham. The Manchester United striker will also miss the following week's Manchester Derby, as well as an FA Cup meeting with Nottingham Forest in the interim.
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The former Atalanta star could be in line to return for the meeting with Everton on March 9. This isn't set in stone, though, with United set to keep tabs on his progress after suffering a muscle injury.
"It's a small injury, two to three weeks," United boss Erik ten Hag said. “That’s what happened, that’s the risk playing high intensity in training. It’s not a big injury, but he has to wait now for two to three weeks.”
How badly will Manchester United miss Rasmus Hojlund? Have your say in the comments section
Rasmus Hojlund is set to sit out the Manchester Derby (Getty Images)United to lose top coach
Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay is set to leave Old Trafford, with the talented 32-year-old picked up by Major League Soccer side Minnesota United. Ramsay has previously been linked with the top job at more than one EFL club, opting to stay put in the past, but will now leave United following the Manchester Derby on March 3.
Ramsay, who previously spent time with Chelsea's under-23 side, joined United in 2021 when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager. He also worked with Wales boss Rob Page alongside his United role, leaving that post in September 2023.
"Eric is arguably one of the best young coaches in football at this moment in time," Page said of Ramsay. The pair worked together for Wales' World Cup play-offs, where they beat Austria and Ukraine to qualify for the finals - as well as for the tournament proper in Qatar.
'Next Cristiano Ronaldo' identified
Alejandro Garnacho has taken influence from former team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo during his playing career, and now attention has turned to whether he could be the natural heir to the ex-United man. Ronaldo's first spell at Old Trafford saw him operate in a position not dissimilar to Garnacho's, attacking from the wing before he became a more central striker in his second stint.
Alejandro Garnacho and Cristiano Ronaldo were briefly team-mates at Manchester United (Getty Images)On the latest edition of the Footballer's Football Podcast, host Rickie Haywood-Williams raised the topic of Garnacho's high potential, though Fulham captain Tom Cairney didn't appear convinced.. "We can’t predict these things but from the murmurings I'm hearing coming out of Old Trafford, they are saying that he has the potential to go to that level," Haywood-Williams said after being queried by Cairney.
Earlier in the season, though, United boss Erik ten Hag urged caution on such comparisons. "Don't compare, I don't think it is right," he said after Garnacho's stunning bicycle kick against Everton.
"They all have their own identity, but for Garnacho to go that way he has a lot to come, he has to work very hard. You have to do it on a consistent basis and so far he has not. But he definitely has high potential to do some amazing things, it's not the first time we saw this."
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