04 September 2023 , 09:45
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Gary Neville is worried that Manchester United do not have players who are capable of easing the pressure on Rasmus Hojlund in the wake of his Premier League debut.
Hojlund, 20, became the Red Devils' marquee summer signing when he completed a £72million transfer from Atalanta last month and caught the eye after coming off the bench in Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Arsenal.
The Denmark international has already been likened to Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland, and although Neville was encouraged by what he saw from the youngster during his cameo at the weekend, the former United defender is concerned that Hojlund will have to bear the brunt of the goalscoring burden in his maiden season at Old Trafford.
When he was asked for his verdict on Hojlund's debut on Sunday, Neville told Sky Sports: “Manchester United have not had a striker they can hit. Ronaldo was not a classic target man, [Anthony] Martial and [Marcus] Rashford certainly aren't, but it looks as though he will mess people about. The good thing is that he's still learning the game.
“He's only played a couple of seasons at top-level football, but people are expecting him to be an Erling Haaland for Manchester United. They don't have anyone with experience to help or back him up.”
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Neville added: “Martial. We have been watching him for eight or nine years now - and he's not what Ten Hag needs or wants. This lad [Hojlund], big price tag on him, it was an encouraging start.”
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Gary Neville was impressed with the impact that Rasmus Hojlund made on his Man Utd debutHojlund replaced Anthony Martial in the 67th minute for United and his physical presence led to an entertaining battle with Gabriel Magalhaes in the final third of the match.
The former Sturm Graz striker has missed Manchester United's first three league games of the season due to an injury he picked up in pre-season in Atalanta but he made a strong impression on Erik ten Hag, who praised him for making an impact.
The Dutchman told Sky Sports: “I thought he [Hojlund] was very good, he made a big impact. But, I also want to give credit to Martial, I thought he was very good, too. There are promising signs for us.”
Ten Hag was left aggrieved by a number of refereeing calls in the match, including the decision to not award United a penalty after Hojlund was sent sprawling in the box by Gabriel. He added: "The performance is right, we played a good game but everything went against us. And then you don’t win the game.
"You saw the game, it's not offside, that is the wrong angle, then a penalty on Hojlund, we concede a goal and that is a foul on Jonny Evans."