Rasmus Hojlund scored twice against West Ham hours after it emerged Man United are moving for Benjamin Sesko.
Hojlund speaks in the mixed zone at Soldier Field
Rasmus Hojlund insists he wants to stay at Manchester United and fight for his place.
Hojlund scored twice in United’s 4-1 thrashing of Bournemouth in Chicago on Wednesday night, hours after it emerged United were advancing with a move for RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko.
United attempted to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town at the start of the summer but he opted to join Chelsea. Viktor Gyokeres also snubbed United in favour of Arsenal and Aston Villa have resisted United’s advances for Ollie Watkins.
Sesko has now emerged as United’s likeliest striker recruit, with Newcastle United resigned to missing out on the Slovenia international. Sesko, 22, is only a few months younger than Hojlund but United are determined to have a new No.9 up front.
Inter Milan enquired about Hojlund in the summer and United head coach Ruben Amorim refused to give assurances that Hojlund would stay at the club.
When asked if United had updated him on his future, Hojlund said: “Nothing so far. I think the most important thing for me is just to keep working hard and stay focused and then obviously we’ll see what happens.
“I think my plan is very clear and that is for me to stay and fight for my spot, whatever happens. I’m still very young. I think people forget that sometimes. I’m only 22.
“Obviously, not every striker is scoring 100 goals at the age of 22 (like Erling Haaland). But I’ve learned a lot, I think you can see in my game. I’m starting to develop and become even better in the basics.
“Now it’s just about for me to sharpen myself and I’ve done very well in the pre-season so far. Just focusing on continuing that.
“Competition is fine with me. It sharpens me. I’m more than ready. I’m feeling sharp, so I’m welcoming everything that comes. I think it’s good with competition and it only sharpens the team.”
Hojlund was on the scoresheet at Soldier Field
Hojlund admitted he has struggled with a lack of support up front at United. When he joined from Atalanta in July 2023, Anthony Martial was recovering from a hamstring injury and the injury-prone Frenchman did not play for the club again after December 9 that year.
United signed Joshua Zirkzee last year but the Bologna forward was ill-suited to the centre forward role and an alternative in the second half of the season was the 17-year-old academy graduate Chido Obi.
“Obviously when I came, Martial was there as well,” Hojlund explained. “He had a lot of injuries, so I obviously had to take a lot of the game time. That’s just part of it, you’re not going to tell me that I shouldn’t be playing because I want to play every game.
“But obviously I could have done with some help in terms of sharing the games a bit, especially in the beginning. But I feel like I’ve matured a lot and I feel like I’m ready for what’s coming.”
Hojlund headed United ahead
Amorim stressed how “happy” he is with Hojlund’s form in pre-season. The Dane struck the post inside the first minute against West Ham in New Jersey on Saturday before his two-goal performance against Bournemouth.
Hojlund’s movement in the penalty area has been widely criticised and he revealed he has been studying videos to improve it.
“We played a lot of games last year so it was hard for me to implement anything into the game for me, especially training on the pitch,” he added. “So it’s been a lot of videos, especially with my movement in the box and also the timing of my runs has been very important.
“I think after last season it’s been a bit rough and I’ve tried to sharpen myself over the course of the holidays and I feel very, very good.
“It was a tough season for us all. I think I should have done better, I think everybody knows. But I also think it’s a team thing, that we’re going to be better now. I think we’ve shown now in these two games that we’re progressing in the right way and looking forward to what’s coming.”
Hojlund is adamant he scored twice against Bournemouth after Amad’s shot grazed his shin. “It is definitely mine,” Hojlund laughed. “I can’t help it. It’s just… it is my goal. The ball touched my shin so I’m going to definitely claim that one!”