is heading to and the , with a lot of expectation resting on the young striker’s shoulders.
The 20-year-old is very close to completing a big money move to Old Trafford from Atalanta, and will be tasked with leading the line for the Red Devils under .
Having only made 69 league appearances across the Danish Superliga, Austrian Bundesliga and Serie A it is a big ask, but United clearly see a lot in him, as have his former managers.
Hojlund made his professional debut at Copenhagen before joining Sturm Graz and his boss in Austria, Christian Ilzer, saw he had the confidence to match his skills and intelligence.
‘Hojlund has always been a self-confident boy,’ Ilzer said. ‘He even seems cocky if you don’t know him. He has flair, speed and an above-average footballing intelligence.’
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini said of the Danish forward: ‘He has great skills but also great margins for improvement.
‘He must work because he has important characteristics to become one of the strongest strikers in Europe.
‘From the very first training sessions we are convinced that he has good characteristics for a boy who is only 19 years old,
‘He has a bright future. He is very smart, I hope to help him grow and give him improvements that can help him.’
Speaking after a memorable performance against Lazio earlier this year, Gasperini said of his young star: ‘Hojlund has this spirit, energy, intensity, but also technical quality that is just remarkable.
‘He still has so much margin for improvement, too. He is so quick, he’s under 11 seconds over 100m and that’s not even trying very hard.
‘Considering his height, he has a low centre of gravity and can move his legs very fast. I am convinced he’ll have a great career, he just gets stronger every day.’
A tall, powerful, speedy Scandinavian forward arriving in Manchester, Hojlund is bound to be compared to Erling Haaland, although his goal-scoring exploits are not on the level of the Norwegian just yet.
However, he is not shying away from the comparison, saying of himself when he moved to Austria, as Haaland did: ‘I see parallels between myself and Erling Haaland.
‘He is fast, left-footed, tall, has a good nose for goal and is a classy finisher. His mentality is also completely insane!’
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