Manchester United have wrapped up a deal to bring 20-year-old Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund to the club.
The Atalanta forward is widely regarded as one of the best talents of the upcoming generation, though many remain sceptical of his skillset at present given the huge transfer fee paid out United.
During his early career, Hojlund has hit 27 goals across 87 senior club appearances, but that only tells half the story of a player that many have compared to Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland.
In this article, we dive into the data to explain whether Hojlund is worth the fee, how he thrives on the pitch and how he can improve United in the future.
MORE: Premier League transfer spending rankings 2023/24: Which club has spent the most?
Rasmus Hojlund career
It's hardly been an easy ride for Hojlund in his formative years in football.
Born in Denmark's capital, the youngster first enjoyed a decent youth spell with Brondby before moving to fierce rivals FC Copenhagen in 2020.
Ultimately, that decision failed to pay off. After just 32 senior appearances for the club — in which he didn't manage to score a single league goal — the Danish club sold him to Austrian side Sturm Graz for a fee €1.95 million (£1.6m/$1.99m).
That disappointment turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Hojlund, who instantly made an impact at his new club, helping to fire them to a second-place league finish behind RB Salzburg.
In just 21 appearances for the club, Hojlund netted 12 goals and provided four assists. Such was his direct attacking output, Serie A side Atalanta came calling, and in August last year, Hojlund swapped Austria for Italy in a transfer worth around €17m (£14.3m/$17.3m).
Hojlund has gone from strength to strength since, adapting to one of Europe's top-five leagues with relative ease by hitting 10 goals in 34 matches in all competitions in 2022/23. His all-round play aided Atalanta in grabbing fifth spot in the final standings as they beat Roma and Juventus to a higher position.
In his time in Bergamo, Hojlund also received his maiden call-up for the Danish national team — a chance he took with both hands. After coming off the bench to make his debut against Croatia in the UEFA Nations League, the 20-year-old marksman smashed home a hat-trick against rivals Finland before adding another three against Kazakhstan and Slovenia to really announce himself on the world stage.
Rasmus Hojlund style of play
For his young age, Hojlund is a very well-rounded striker, possessing both the skillset to score frequently at any level whilst also having the all-round physicality to constantly affect play.
Starting with the physical side of his game, the Dane offers a big threat in multiple ways. At 6ft 2in tall, Hojlund is strong in the air and possesses a big, powerful frame, which helps to hold his opponents at bay. In Serie A last season, he won 36% of his aerial duels — a reasonable amount but a rate that should improve over time as he becomes a more experienced forward.
Hojlund's pace is also very impressive, clocking a top speed of 35.97km/h — the fastest in Serie A last season by any player.
It's that turn of pace that really underpins what kind of player Hojlund is: a forward who loves to stay in central areas and poach his chances when the time arises. He can break the defensive line with that quickness when needed but it more commonly allows him to pick up the ball deeper and charge forward.
That can be seen when watching his Atalanta highlights this past season in particular. Usually deployed in a front two by boss Gian Piero Gasperini, that formation and role has really helped Hojlund to improve his all-round build-up play, especially highlighted by the improvements he's made with his first touch. He's also heightened his footballing intelligence as a result, knowing best when to make space for himself in the most effective manner.
In front of goal when he arrives on the scene, his finishing can be potent and throughout his career, the Denmark international has usually outperformed his expected goals tally. In Serie A last season, his nine strikes came from 9.43 xG, with his conversion rate sitting at 16.67% — a figure higher than that of players such as Lautaro Martinez and Dusan Vlahovic.
On top of that, Hojlund is widely regarded to be left-footed but as five of his last eight league goals came courtesy of his right, his comfort in finishing with either foot remains a big plus and something that will become apparent in the Premier League.
Strikingly, his production of 28 shots on target in the league last season ranked him 10th of any player even despite him playing a significantly reduced amount of minutes in comparison to others. That should be particularly promising for hopeful United fans as, impressively, only a few of those shots came from outside the box, which highlights his ability to select his attempts for the greatest effect.
Of course, improvements can still be made, as the 11 'big chances' that the Dane missed last season show, but for a 20-year-old striker, Hojlund could certainly take United to the next level up front in an instant.
That's something that his current Denmark and potential new United teammate Christian Eriksen would agree with. The 31-year-old recently said of Hojlund: "He's a strong number nine, he's developed a lot in the last year from when I first saw him with the national team. He's a very good player."
Will Rasmus Hojlund improve Manchester United?
Despite many baulking at how big the transfer fee is to bring Hojlund to Old Trafford this summer, he will undoubtedly make them a better side.
As well as bringing his own positives in terms of goalscoring, his positioning on the field and style of play should bring the best out of his new teammates, especially those like Marcus Rashford who will work well in unison with the young forward.
On top of that, from a data perspective, the 20-year-old vastly outperformed Wout Weghorst last season, the man tasked with filling United's No. 9 role in the persistent injury absences of Anthony Martial. Even looking back to the 2021/22 campaign, Hojlund's numbers stack up favourably against Cristiano Ronaldo.
When looking at the pair's stats per 90 in the league, Hojlund outperformed Ronaldo in 2021/22 in shot conversion rate, duels won, progressive carries and overall touches of the ball. That's not bad when you consider that we're talking about a youngster in a top-five league for the first time compared to one of the greatest footballers of all time.
He is likely to sustain that development, too, as he is reportedly due to sign a contract through to 2028. As he has the potential to turn into one of the best forwards of his generation, that's a huge coup for manager Erik ten Hag.
With Manchester City buying Haaland last summer and Liverpool equally making a huge splash to bring Darwin Nunez to Anfield, United needed to respond. In Hojlund, they've got a fantastic addition for both the present and the future.
Premier League 2023/24 TV channels, live streams
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| Canada | — | |
| Hong Kong | — | Now TV |
| India | Star Sports | Disney+, Hotstar, JioTV |
| Malaysia | Astro SuperSport | Astro Go |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sport Now, Sky Go |
| Singapore | StarHub | StarHub TV+ |
| UK | Sky Sports, TNT Sports | NOW TV, Sky Go, Amazon Prime |
| USA | USA Network, Telemundo, Universo |
Fubo, Peacock |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).