“He’d never seen me play before” - Rasmus Hojlund reveals what Casemiro told him after Manchester United debut
Rasmus Hojlund has revealed that Casemiro was pleased with his performance for Manchester United in their 3-1 defeat to Arsenal on Sunday (September 3).
The 21-year-old made his debut when he came on for Anthony Martial in the 67th minute. The Danish striker had missed the Red Devils' opening three games with a back injury.
However, Hojlund didn't look fazed by the magnitude of making his debut against the Gunners as he got stuck into the thick of things. He gave Gabriel Magalhaes a torrid time with his height and power when Manchester United looked to go direct.
His teammate Casemiro was seen grabbing and passionately motivating him during a corner. He has now revealed that the Brazilian was seemingly impressed with his performance (via UtdPlug):
"He [Casemiro] just said something in Spanish: 'vamos' or something like that. He was happy that I gave the team a dynamic maybe a little bit different from Martial's. He had never seen me play before and he told me he was pleasantly surprised."
Hojlund joined the Red Devils from Atalanta earlier this summer for £72 million and was the much-needed center-forward Erik ten Hag desired. A lack of firepower has plagued Manchester United at the start of the season and his return to fitness could be vital.
The Denmark international bagged 10 goals and four assists in 34 games across competitions. He is pacey for a striker that stands at 6"3 and this was on display during his debut as he looked to help Ten Hag's side venture forward on the counter.
It was an improvement from the somewhat timid display put in by Martial. The French striker did manage one shot and one key pass but he caused the Gunners defense hardly any problems.
Gary Neville reacted to Hojlund's Manchester United debut by claiming the club finally have a target man
Hojlund joins a long list of legendary strikers that have been handed the role of being the focal point of Manchester United's attack. Cristiano Ronaldo, Robin van Persie, and Wayne Rooney are the most recent frontmen to have wowed in the role.
There is pressure on the young Dane to follow suit given he has become the Red Devils' most expensive U21 signing in history. However, Gary Neville was impressed with what he saw on his debut against Arsenal. He told Sky Sports that United's issue is that they haven't had a trademark target man for several years (via Metro):
"Manchester United haven’t had a striker that they can hit. That’s the problem. Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t a classic target man, [Anthony] Martial’s certainly not, [Marcus] Rashford’s not. At least they’ve got someone who looks like he’ll mess people around and get his body in there. He’s aggressive, and he’s a runner."
There are expectations that Hojlund should be replicating the incredible form that Erling Haaland has shown at Manchester City. The Norweigan has bagged 58 goals in just 59 games across competitions. Neville touched on this:
"The thing for him is he’s learning the game still. He’s only played a couple of seasons of top level football and we’re expected him to be Erling Haaland. That’s the problem."
The Red Devils forward does have good numbers for Denmark, bagging six goals in six international caps. He'll look to add to that tally as he has been selected for Euro 2024 qualifiers against San Marino (September 6) and Finland (September 10).