ESPN pundit Luis Miguel Echegaray does not think Rasmus Højlund is a 20-goal-a-season striker and has advised Manchester United’s incoming coach Rúben Amorim to sign a much bigger name center forward in the mould of Victor Osimhen.
Højlund joined Manchester United from Atalanta in August 2023, signing a five-year deal, with the option of a further year.
Since making his Reds debut in September 2023, the Denmark international has scored 18 goals in 55 games across all competitions, almost a goal every three games, statistically suggesting that he’s not the player to take Manchester United to the promised land.
Luis Miguel Echegaray feels the Scandinavian player is not the answer to United’s goalscoring issues, and has urged the club to bring in a marquee center forward.
Manchester United scored 57 goals in the 2023-2024 Premier League season, the fewest goals among the teams finishing in the top half of the table.
Manchester United were heavily linked with Osimhen before the capture of Højlund but it is believed the Old Trafford side were priced out of a move, with Napoli valuing the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup winner at 130 million euros.
Echegaray has criticized United for passing up the opportunity to sign Osimhen and Aston Villa’s England international Ollie Watkins.
Speaking on ESPN FC Live, he said: “There’s no denying his talent but the biggest criticism of United from my side, leaving aside Erik ten Hag, leaving aside the management, is the recruitment.
“You had options to go into players like Victor Osimhen, even try to target someone like Ollie Watkins but you said no, I’m going to scout somebody else, I’m going to go in another direction.
“There’s no denying the talent of Højlund but is he going to be your main guy, that’s up to Rúben Amorim to decide but in my opinion the next step for United is to find a striker that can really echo and imitate everything that is being produced going forward.”
Osimhen has gotten off to a blistering start at Galatasaray, registering 12 goal involvements (8 goals, 4 assists) in 8 matches.
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