Rasmus Hojlund has taken issue with the idea that winning the Europa League would “rescue” Manchester United’s season, insisting that his side are “going in the right direction” regardless.
The beleaguered centre-forward was asked by ESPN on Disney+ in Denmark whether lifting the trophy in Bilbao next month would rescue an otherwise dismal season for the club.
He responded: “Yeah, I guess so in some ways. But then again, I don’t like the word ‘rescue’. It’s more of a learning curve, and trying to have a good fundamental to build on for next season.”
Whether next season involves European football being played at Old Trafford depends almost entirely on the progress of Ruben Amorim’s men in Europe’s second-tier competition.
They line up against Olympique Lyonnaise in the first leg of the quarter-final tomorrow night as they continue to push for some silverware and a place in the Champions League next campaign.
ESPN claim that missing out on the flagship competition would trigger a “financial nightmare” for United which would “leave a £100 million hole”.
But for Hojlund, the team are starting to make real progress under Amorim and should be a different proposition next season, although the project is a long-term one still in its infancy.
“I guess we’re still quite early in the phase, aren’t we,” he said. “Then again, we are going in the right direction.”
He added: “We’re starting to understand each other, but like the coach is saying… every time he goes in the media, he says we have so much to improve and everybody needs to do better.
“We need to develop, all of us, so that’s the target.”
The 22-year-old has five goals and three assists in 10 Europa League matches, compared to three goals and one assist in 26 Premier League games, and he will be desperate to continue that form against Lyon and, hopefully, beyond.
However, his listless performance against Manchester City at the weekend won’t have done him any favours, particularly with Joshua Zirkzee looking much more threatening when he came off the bench to replace him.
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
