Struggling Hojlund has better conversion rate but Amorim must fix dilemma

RASMUS HOJLUND has a better chance conversion rate than Erling Haaland and Mo Salah since making his debut for Manchester United last year.

The striker, still just 21, joined the Red Devils for £72m in the summer of 2023 after a solitary season at Atalanta.

Hojlund arrived at Old Trafford with United desperate for a productive striker.

And while he has shown signs of promise, he has scored just 18 goals in 55 appearances for the Red Devils, 11 of which came in the Premier League.

However, statistics show that Hojlund is far from solely responsible for his lack of goals.

Since his United debut, he has been one of the deadliest players in the Premier League.

Hojlund has a conversion rate of 25.5 percent, which puts him fourth in the Premier League over this period.

Only Chris Wood (30.9), Jean-Philippe Mateta (28.8) and Hwang Hee-chan (27.5) have better conversion rates in that time.

Manchester City goal machine Erling Haaland is at 21.2 percent, albeit on a much higher volume.

While Liverpool's Mo Salah is on 18.3 percent, again on many more attempts.

SunSport revealed last weekend that scouts from Man Utd were on hand to watch Ruben Amorim's former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres in action for Sweden.

But now that Amorim will have to work with a lower budget compared to his predecessor Erik ten Hag, he may have to prioritize getting more out of his current harvest.

Speaking to the Telegraph, former Man Utd striker Dion Dublin pointed out that his old side have not provided enough quality crosses for Hojlund.

He said: 'I still don't agree with right-footers on the left and left-footers on the right.

“If you are (Alejandro) Garnacho on the left or Antony is playing on the right, all your crosses go to the goalkeeper. If you are on the other side they come away from the goalkeeper and you have more space than to adjust if a centre-forward.”

“You also have that reluctance to beat the man on the outside and if you play in reverse you have an excuse to keep chopping on your good foot, but there should be no excuse whatsoever to deliver end product.”

The Telegraph also points out that Hojlund only gets 4.1 touches in the penalty area and 1.5 shots per game, compared to Haaland's scores of 7.1 and 4.5.

Where United fans can have hope, however, is the work Amorim did with Gyokeres in Portugal.

The striker was already a good player beforehand, having scored goals for Coventry.

But in Lisbon it went one step further, with Gyokeres scoring no fewer than 66 times in 68 games for Sporting.

Regardless of United's transfer budget in the coming window, Hojlund will be given the opportunity to prove that he can be the club's productive No. 9, and that they should not compromise on Gyokeres or another star forward.

And United fans will be hoping he can now embark on a rich run of form, starting next Sunday when Amorim takes charge of his first game away at Ipswich.