Højlund isn't scoring for Man United, but it's not his fault

Rasmus Højlund finds himself in an impossible situation at Manchester United. He’s the striker the club want you to believe was selected ahead of Harry Kane as a priority signing this summer and also has the burden of being measured up against Erling Haaland across town at Manchester City.

But while Kane and Haaland are already racing clear of their rivals in the scoring charts in the Bundesliga and Premier League, respectively — Kane has 10 league goals for Bayern Munich, and Haaland has 11 for City — Højlund is still waiting to register his first league goal for United after eight games for Erik ten Hag’s team. The 20-year-old can at least point to three goals in three Champions League appearances for United so far this season, so Wednesday’s trip to Denmark to face his former club FC Copenhagen (and his brothers, Emil and Oscar) offers him the opportunity to add to his tally in a game United must win to maintain realistic hopes of qualifying for the knockout phase.

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Overall, the £72 million signing from Atalanta is enduring a nightmare start to his United career because, unlike Kane and Haaland, he has been tasked with scoring goals for a team that is consistently failing to provide the chances for him to do just that. Had United taken a different course this summer and signed Kane from Tottenham Hotspur — although persuading him to move to Old Trafford might have been an insurmountable challenge — it is difficult to imagine the England captain being as prolific as he has been so far for Bayern had he been forced to work with the minimal service Højlund has been given.

The Denmark international’s 79th-minute substitution during Saturday’s 1-0 win at Fulham means it is now 160 minutes since a chance has been created for him in the Premier League. Against Fulham and against City last weekend, Højlund did not have one opportunity to score.

The best goal scorers can create chances out of nothing — just watch Kane, Haaland and Liverpool‘s Mohamed Salah. Højlund did just that when scoring in the 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray last month with a run from the halfway line, followed by a classy finish, that had former United midfielder Paul Scholes comparing him to an Old Trafford great. “Wow, there’s a bit of [Ruud] van Nistelrooy in there,” Scholes told TNT Sports. “He [Højlund] really excited me.”

But while top strikers must possess that ability to muster a moment of magic, they also need help from around them, and Ten Hag has yet to find a way to get the ball to his centre-forward in key areas.

So far this season, the United manager has primarily relied on Marcus Rashford and Antony as wingers, but neither has shown any sign of being able to read Højlund’s runs or even displayed a determination to do so. Rashford, who has registered only one goal and one assist in the league all season, has prompted outbursts of on-field frustration from Højlund by often opting to shoot rather than pass to him.

In 10 league games, Rashford has created just four big chances and delivered 13 crosses — hardly the kind of service required for a centre-forward. And Antony has fared even worse, with no assists, two big chances created and just nine crosses in eight games. The former Ajax winger, a left-footed player operating on the right flank, might ultimately prove to be a better option for Højlund if he is deployed on the left wing and asked to deliver crosses that aerially adept forwards traditionally thrive upon.

Central midfielder Bruno Fernandes could be Ten Hag’s best hope of unlocking Højlund’s goal-scoring potential, however. Already this season, the United captain has delivered 74 crosses and created six big chances — he just needs to find Højlund with the ball as consistently as Kevin De Bruyne did with Haaland at City last season.

But while Højlund can justifiably claim he has been starved of quality service, there is no escaping the fact that he has also wasted good chances when they have presented themselves. He has missed six big chances, according to Premier League data, despite having only 11 shots all season. Only four of those 11 ended up hitting the target.

So after 572 minutes of Premier League action, Højlund’s statistics are worryingly unimpressive and risk eating into his confidence. He still has some way to go to match Diego Forlan’s goal drought of 23 Premier League games — after his £6.9m move to United from Independiente in 2002 — but having commanded a transfer fee that was £20m higher than City’s £52m deal with Borussia Dortmund to sign Haaland, he needs to start scoring in the Premier League.

Goals in the Champions League are important, even if Højlund’s three to date have all been scored in defeats, yet it is his contribution in the Premier League by which he will be measured. A goal in a victory in Copenhagen could be the lift-off Højlund needs for his United career, but he needs help from those teammates who are letting him down.