Erik ten Hag's worrying Rasmus Hojlund admission proves spot after West Ham defeat
Manchester United slumped to their fourth Premier League defeat of the season against West Ham on Sunday and their attack left a lot to be desired at the London Stadium
by Daniel Orme · The MirrorErik ten Hag has warned that Rasmus Hojlund is still "not up to speed" after another miserable Manchester United defeat.
The Dutchman is clinging on to his job after the Red Devils slumped to a late 2-1 reverse at West Ham. Crysencio Summerville and Casemiro exchanged strikes before Jarrod Bowen ’s stoppage time winner from the penalty spot.
It was another game in which the Red Devils struggled in attack - with their cause not exactly helped by Diogo Dalot’s miss. Only Southampton and Crystal Palace have scored fewer than Ten Hag’s United in the Premier League this season.
And things might not improve for some time, according to the Red Devils boss, who believes his main striker still has some way to go to rediscover his best form. Speaking before the trip to the London Stadium, he said: "We've had some struggles with scoring goals and Rasmus Hojlund is the one who is most clinical for us.
“He was a big miss when we didn't have him at the start of the season. He's now returning and he's still not up to full speed." And Hojlund endured a tough afternoon against West Ham, with the striker unable to contribute on the goalscoring front in east London.
Ten Hag’s admission comes after Alan Shearer shared his own worries about Hojlund’s role in the side. Despite being full of praise for the former Atalanta star’s strike against Brentford last week, he believes that the youngster is not ready to be United’s main man quite yet.
Speaking to Betfair, he said: “It was a great finish. I am pleased for him because it's been unfair and tough on Rasmus since he joined the club.
“He’s been asked to play a role and in a team that has been nowhere near ready to facilitate him. He’s young, and in an ideal situation, he'd have been put in and taken out again to ease the burden.
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“That would've been a better situation and scenario for him and the club. They bought him for big money, which isn’t his fault, but he wasn’t ready and perhaps still isn’t ready to lead the line every week.”
Shearer added: “They’ve needed another main centre-forward who he could have alternated with throughout the course of the past couple of seasons. We would have seen an improvement if he’d been used like that, albeit maybe a slower progression, but without the pressure.
“Having said that, I've always said there's something in there. There's a talented, good player in there and I think his performance against Brentford was one of his best.”
Hojlund, 21, has 18 goals in 50 appearances in all competitions for the club. His back-up, Joshua Zirkzee, has scored just once since arriving from Bologna.
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