Rasmus Hojlund can see the similarities himself, as much as he would like to avoid them.
“He’s fast, I’m also fast. He’s left-footed, I’m also left-footed. He’s strong and I’m strong, too,” the 20-year-old said earlier this year.
But at least, and quite rightly, the Atalanta striker wanted by Manchester United knows there is plenty of work to do if he is to one-day reach the dizzying heights Erling Haaland has scaled in his first few years on the global stage.
“As I’ve said many times before, I would not like to compare myself to him because he’s a monster, he’s crazy,” Hojlund added. “I hope that I can reach his level, but I’ll need to train very hard and be even more focused on the pitch.”
The Dane does not boast the monster near-goal-a-game stats Haaland was achieving even as a teenager at Red Bull Salzburg, but let’s stop there and honour Hojlund’s wishes – comparisons with the world’s best forward are futile.
Hojlund is by his own admission a work in progress and was recently described by Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini, fully aware of United’s interest, as one of the best emerging talents in Europe.
“If he stays? I don’t know,” Gasperini told Sky in Italy on Thursday. “I honestly don’t know, the market is unpredictable, I don’t know the value of the player, but he can be worth even €100m.”
Gasperini’s own valuation, roughly £87m, appears to be one United are unwilling to match, making negotiations with Atalanta potentially difficult despite Fabrizio Romano reporting personal terms have already been agreed.
Nevertheless, United are eager for a new No 9 and could make an opening offer soon amid interest from Paris Saint-Germain, although Atalanta themselves may hope the French champions can help drive up the price for Hojlund.
It is therefore yet another transfer saga that looks set to test United’s resolve. They are no strangers to being quoted astronomical figures, the club reportedly bemoaning what has been called a “United Tax” when told Napoli’s Victor Osimhen would cost £150m, and they were similarly reluctant to meet Chelsea’s asking price for Mason Mount before eventually settling on a £60m deal – £10m below what the Blues had been holding out for until talks stalled.
What we have learned already this summer is that United will walk away if the price is not right, with no offer made for Osimhen and the potential cost of poaching Harry Kane from Tottenham not being entertained either.
Hojlund is therefore viewed as the best (and still cheaper) alternative to Osimhen and Kane, although he is not Premier League-ready like the latter, while the former is deemed the best striker in Serie A – voted as much in 2022-23 and also making the team of the season as 26 goals topped the scoring charts and helped deliver a rare title to Naples.
Meanwhile, Hojlund scored 10 goals for Atalanta last season, including nine in the league from 20 starts and 12 appearances off the bench. A run of four goals in four games in January was followed by a memorable March at international level, the striker scoring a hat-trick against Finland on his first start for Denmark before adding a brace against Kazakhstan.
A further goal in Denmark’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Slovenia puts Hojlund on six goals in six games for his country, having made his debut last September.
“He has developed fantastically well in the 20 months since he left this stadium [his former club, FC Copenhagen],” Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand said after the Finland hat-trick. “He is a hard-working young man who works hard for the team, and he is a great goalscorer as well.”
Hojlund’s club coach Gasperini is similarly effusive about a player he claims can run 100m in under 11 seconds.
And this, alas, brings us full circle, for Gasperini made the comparison with Haaland after Atalanta’s “best performance of the season”, where they won 2-0 at Lazio and Hojlund displayed his blistering pace – leaving four defenders in his wake in a race from the halfway line to the penalty box, only to see his attempt saved. He then went on to score his side’s second with a tap-in.
“Hojlund has this spirit, energy, intensity, but also technical quality that is just remarkable,” Gasperini said afterwards.
“He still has so much margin for improvement, too. He has very similar characteristics to Haaland, not just his face. He is so quick, he’s under 11 seconds over 100m and that’s not even trying very hard.
“Considering his height, he has a low centre of gravity and can move his legs very fast. I am convinced he’ll have a great career, he just gets stronger every day.”
Whether that career continues at Atalanta or switches to Manchester, we should soon find out, but either way Hojlund has pace to burn and evidently a determination to quickly realise his potential.
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