Football
Exclusive: Dwight Yorke Claims United’s Hojlund “Struggles” With the Premier League
With the Premier League season, former United goal poacher has weighed in with his thoughts on the team’s massive signing, Rasmus Hojlund, expressing his disappointment with his former club’s form this season.
Former Manchester United hitman Dwight Yorke believes the club's big-money striker Rasmus Hojlund “struggles” with the demands of the Premier League.
Danish football marksman Hojlund, 20, has scored seven goals in the top flight this season but has arguably failed to live up to his high-profile £72 million move to Old Trafford.
He seems to fit into the Champions League so that record is really good. But when you’re playing in a struggling team, that doesn’t create as much for you, then you’re always going to struggle.
Yorke on Hojlund
Seeking Goals in the EPL
The three-time Premier League winner Yorke, who bagged an impressive 29 goals when United won a magical treble in 1999, expects his fellow striker to be judged on his league success.
“As a striker, you’re always going to be judged on the number of goals,” stressed Yorke. “You’re always going to need a striker who should be getting you anywhere in the region of 20-25 goals.”
“He’s got off to a decent start, although I still think he struggles with the Premier League, maybe the demands of the game. It’s different to the Champions League, where it’s a little bit more tactical and you can play at a slightly slower pace,” explains Yorke.
United’s Uphill Battle Continues
Yorke enjoyed four seasons with United in the Premier League, scoring 48 goals in 98 Premier League appearances.
But the 52-year-old is saddened to see the club struggling, especially after a promising first season under new boss Eric ten Hag.
“When you look at the back of last year in terms of what [ten Hag] brought and what he did, especially the additional players that he brought to the club, you’d expect them to be stronger, not weaker,” added Yorke, who enjoyed a total of 17 seasons in the top flight during a distinguished career, which included spells with Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, and Sunderland.
“There’s a lot of question marks there. You just feel like there’s a lot of scenarios, you don’t want to get into too much debate. But from the outside looking in I would have done some things differently but in hindsight, it’s easy to do that.”
"The reality is you’re just not getting the results. And when you’re not getting results, you’re always going to be under scrutiny as big of a club as Utd.”
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Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.