"You can't bring a rookie in to do a man's job" – Dwight Yorke admits he feels 'sorry' for Manchester United star amid crisis
Ex-Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke has asserted that he has sympathy for Rasmus Hojlund, who has struggled to find his feet in his initial months at the Red Devils.
Hojlund, 20, has failed to live up to the billing at Old Trafford since leaving Atalanta in a potential £72 million move earlier in August. Although he has scored five goals in six UEFA Champions League outings this season, he is yet to open his account in 14 Premier League games.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Yorke stated that Manchester United would have been better off with a proven goalscorer in their squad. He said:
"I think they should have paid £150 million for [Erling] Haaland. Harry Kane is an obvious choice. And [Victor] Osimhen is another I would have tried for. I feel sorry for the kid Rasmus, he's suffering all around. I didn't know anything about him until he came to Manchester United for such a huge fee."
Sharing his two cents on 10-cap Denmark international, Yorke added:
"He's 20 years of age, never had top-level experience, and you can see he's in that development stage. You can't bring a rookie in to do a man's job. It just doesn't work. He's making the game look a little bit difficult. But who is he learning from?"
Overall, Hojlund has scored five times in 22 matches for United so far.
Dwight Yorke lauds former team Aston Villa ahead of Manchester United league match
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Dwight Yorke showered praise on his former club Aston Villa ahead of their league clash at Manchester United on Tuesday (December 26). He said:
"Listen, I think Villa are in a much healthier position than United. Nevertheless, going to Old Trafford is always a daunting task, no matter how bad United might be. The transformation under Unai Emery is massive. He's got them playing such a dynamic, exciting style. It's quite remarkable actually, a kind of a fairy tale story."
Opining on the Red Devils' sub-par campaign so far, Yorke continued:
"We expected this from Erik ten Hag too. He got off to a very good start, got to two finals and won one, and brought back Champions League football. You're thinking, we've got the guy who's going to take the club forward now. If anything, he has gone the other way. He spent money, he brought in his players. But the inconsistency, getting knocked out of Europe, must be devastating for them."
While Aston Villa are third in the 2023-24 Premier League table with 39 points from 18 games, United are currently eighth with 28 points so far.
Unai Emery's side have registered two victories in their last four league encounters against Manchester United. They had as many victories in their previous 51 games against them, losing 37 times in the process.