Erling Haaland has jumped to Rasmus Hojlund’s defence after the striker’s mixed debut season at Manchester United, insisting his opposite number has shown real promise and improved across the campaign.
Hojlund completed a £64million move from Atalanta to United with big expectations on his shoulders last summer, but the 21-year-old flattered to deceive in his opening few months in Manchester.
It took until Boxing Day for Hojlund to open his account in the Premier League, with the youngster scoring a dramatic late winner against Aston Villa as serious question marks were being raised over his arrival.
The Denmark international took great confidence from the goal and went on to find the net seven times in his next seven appearances for the Red Devils before missing the club’s last three matches through injury.
There is some hope that Hojlund could return from his muscle problem to feature against Everton at the weekend and the forward will no doubt be desperate to make an impact in the wake of United’s derby defeat at the Etihad.
Speaking ahead of Manchester City’s Champions League clash with Copenhagen, Haaland – who put the final nail in United’s coffin at the Etihad – said he had been impressed with the resolve Hojlund has shown after a difficult start in English football.
‘I think his start was a bit hard but then he became much better,’ Haaland told reporters ahead of the second leg of Manchester City’s Champions League round of 16 clash with Copenhagen.
‘When we played against them, I think he was really good so he’s a good player and he’s young, like me. I’m not the youngster anymore but I’m still young!
‘He has to keep on developing and as a striker for Manchester United as well you have to score goals as well so that’s his job.’
Asked whether he had been in contact with Hojlund during their time together in Manchester, Haaland bluntly replied: ‘No.’
Haaland proved he was human after all with a miss-of-the-season contender in the Manchester derby and the Norway international made light of the moment as he faced the media.
‘People say I’m good at scoring goals but I missed the biggest chance in the world ever so I can get better at that,’ he joked.
‘I’ve missed a lot of chances, I’ll keep missing chances, and I’ll keep scoring goals. I’ll probably miss a big chance in future, people will criticise me. Should I keep thinking about it? No.’
Last season, Haaland broke the record for the most goals in a single Premier League campaign and helped City win a historic treble in a phenomenal debut season in Manchester.
Asked how he is able to keep himself motivated on the back of such tremendous success, he replied: ‘You can think about it in two ways.
‘One thing, I came here and won it all and the other thing: I’m 23 years old and I won everything and I got a taste of what it is like to win everything.
‘How I work is that when I feel this, I want to win it again. Easy as that.’
City hold a 3-1 lead over Copenhagen heading into Wednesday’s second leg after Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden got on the scoresheet in Denmark’s capital.
The Premier League champions are unbeaten in their last 19 games in all competitions and would stretch their winning streak to five matches with victory at the Etihad.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on
Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
MORE : Michael Owen makes Arsenal Premier League title prediction after 6-0 Sheffield United win
MORE : Jonny Evans ‘shouldn’t be at Manchester United’, says Rio Ferdinand
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
