"Players resorted to tears because of the way he demands of them" - Rio Ferdinand urges Rasmus Hojlund to emulate Manchester United legend
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has urged summer signing Rasmus Hojlund to take inspiration from former Red Devils striker Ruud van Nistelrooy. The TNT pundit believes that the Dane forward needs to start demanding more from his teammates to hit the ground running at Old Trafford.
Rasmus Hojlund joined Manchester United from Atalanta in a deal worth €75 million during the summer transfer window. Although the striker has shown flashes of his brilliance with three goals in as many Champions League games this season, his overall output leaves a lot to be desired. Especially in the Premier League where he's yet to open his account after eight matches.
It's disheartening to see the striker bring starved of chances at Manchester United on a consistent basis. Over his last 160 minutes of league action, Hojlund has had no chances created for him despite making several promising runs.
Commenting on the Dane's struggles, Rio Ferdinand noted that his colleagues aren't giving him the required support.
"We’re not seeing the best out of him and his best attributes are not being seen because the team aren’t playing to his strengths,” the Englishman said on TNT Sports following Manchester United’s 1-0 win against Fulham at the weekend.
"I see too many times that they [wingers] get wide and the quality is nowhere near good enough.
“Antony doesn’t really want to cross it, his first instinct is to see what he can do for himself. Marcus is more of a striker and wants to get on the end of things himself, so his second thought is to cross.
“So when he [Rasmus Hojlund] is making his movements, the ball is being delayed and not coming into the areas. The sooner they get the ball in the box to this guy, he makes good runs. Play to his strengths.”
Professing a solution to the striker's plight, Ferdinand urged Rasmus Hojlund to emulate Ruud van Nistelrooy by demanding more from his teammates.
"But he hasn’t had the time enough here, or he isn’t old enough yet or experienced enough to grab a few people and say ‘listen, you get the ball into me otherwise I’ll come in at half-time and you’ll feel the wrath’, he’s not got that yet, we don’t expect that yet,” he continued.
“Ruud van Nistelrooy, you didn’t cross the ball to him… I’ve seen players resorted to tears because of the way he demands of them, I hope Hojlund gets to the point of demanding like that," Ferdinand added.
Can Rasmus Hojlund continue his brilliant Champions League form with Manchester United this week?
Manchester United will continue their redemption journey in the Champions League this season when they travel to Denmark to take on Copenhagen at the Parken Stadium this Wednesday.
With three goals in as many games, Rasmus Hojlund appears to be the most in-form player the Red Devils have got in the tournament at the moment. This could be another opportunity for the striker to steal the show.
Erik ten Hag's men are currently ranked third in Group A with three points after three games. A victory this week would put them in a good position heading into more important games versus Galatasaray and Bayern Munich to round up the group phase.