There is a running joke that as soon as a struggling Manchester United player leaves, they start performing. Many have failed for various reasons outside of the club’s control, but in the case of Rasmus Højlund, maybe it was United that were the problem.

By Alex Roberts

The 22-year-old wasn’t originally touted for an exit from Old Trafford. He wasn’t forced to train by himself, turn up at Carrington after every other player had left, or stay in Manchester while everyone else flew for their pre-season tour of the USA.

In fact, Højlund appeared to be a key player in Untied’s friendlies, starting two of their games and even scoring the opener in the 4-1 win over now high-flying Bournemouth. That all changed as we entered the back end of the transfer window.

Benjamin Šeško was then signed for a reported fee of £74 million from RB Leipzig, just as it looked like the giant Slovenian would be signing for Newcastle. United’s higher ups clearly thought it was an opportunity they simply couldn’t miss out on.

Højlund was told to find a new club, and links with Serie A sides were almost instant. First there was AC Milan, then Roma, but he ended up with Antonio Conte’s Napoli, joining on an initial loan with a reported obligation to buy for around £40 million.

Standing at a healthy 6’3”, Højlund is a big lad. As a result, he was often used as more of a target man by Erik ten Hag and then Ruben Amorim during his time at United, but even the fans could tell that wasn’t the way to get the best out of him.

There is no doubt that Højlund has to take some responsibility for his poor form, but an xG of just 5.24 in the Premier League last season would suggest he wasn’t getting the right kind of service from his teammates.

Amorim essentially admitted as much back in January, saying: “I think it’s more a team problem than a Rasmus problem.” 

“You can see it, it’s not just from now, it’s from the past. So we have clearly a lack of goals and a lack of threat. All the players have moments in this season. I think when we started this journey together, Rasmus was the player that was always scoring.”

If Højlund were to look inwards a little, 82 touches in the opposition box across his 32 league games is a clear indication he wasn’t getting into the right positions, although he was tasked with holding up play and bringing teammates into play, which has never been the best aspect of his game.

One of the biggest indicators of his struggles at United is the fact that he is a strong finisher, he just didn’t shoot enough. Last season he had 32 shots, 13 of which were on target, compared to Man City’s Erling Haaland, the league’s best striker, who had 108 shots with 60 on target.

Admittedly, Haaland is an anomaly, but a club the size of United would expect a similar output from their number nine. So, either he wasn’t getting into the right position, or his confidence was so through the floor he couldn’t bring himself to pull the trigger. Likely both. 

Højlund is at his best when he’s able to exploit the space between the opposition right-back and the centre-back, using his deceptive pace to drive at defenders and use his physicality in a mobile way rather than a stationary one.

Now under Conte, he’s doing exactly that. The irate Italian plays a lot more direct that Ten Hag did and Amorim does at United, wanting his midfielders to play quick balls through the line, and there are few better at doing that than Kevin de Bruyne. 

When you close your eyes and think of Conteball, the first think you’d imagine would be a back three, but last season he primarily played a 4-3-3, and it worked, Napoli won the Scudetto after all.

This season, Conte has been more willing to sacrifice stability for a more dynamic attacking style, largely due to the arrival of De Bruyne, playing a 4-1-4-1, with the two central midfielders playing higher up, leaving the six with more space to cover.

It should come as absolutely no surprise that the great Belgian has assisted two of Højlund’s four goals so far (all comps). His opener in the 2-0 Champions League win over Sporting, assisted by De Bruyne, couldn’t have been a more perfect example. 

Sporting lost possession on the edge of Napoli’s box, De Bruyne plays a cute one-two with André-Frank Zambo Anguissa before driving towards the centre of the pitch. Eduardo Quaresma then decides to step out and make a tackle, but it doesn’t come off.

Højlund is driving towards the final third as the rest of the Sporting defenders scramble, backing off and allowed De Bruyne to play an inch perfect through ball into the space between the final centre-back and the left-back.

At that point, there was no catching the striker, and he cooly slotted past a helpless Rui Silva and in the blink of an eye, Napoli were 1-0 up. Man United, THAT is how you get the best out of Højlund.

In the Premier League side’s defence, there were plenty of factors outside of their control that played their roles. Having the likes of Gary Neville and Paul Scholes talking on six podcasts and three TV shows every other day, talking about how great things were back in their day, would affect a majority of young players.

People forget just how young Højlund is; he’s still raw, but with time on his side, can absolutely become a top striker. Now that Šeško is leading the line, a forward with a similar profile, United will need to avoid past mistakes, something they’re not exactly great at.

Napoli have clearly shown a lot of faith in Højlund, and if these early stages of his time at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium are anything to go by, it will be repaid with plenty on interest.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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