Over the last decade, Manchester United have failed to live up to their status as one of the biggest clubs in the world.
This has been the case both on the field and behind the scenes, with the two interlinked in the prevention of success and signings failing to nail down long-term roles in the team.
The striker position has been the main vacant role since the days of Robin van Persie, with the club so often seeking a short-term fix in the form of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo – among others.
However, Erik ten Hag seems to have finally found the answer to United’s number nine issue, in the form of Rasmus Hojlund, but there is one former Red Devil who’s been as clinical as the Dane this season.
Rasmus Hojlund’s 23/24 Stats
With a new centre forward being the primary target of Ten Hag in the summer, Man Utd forked out £72m to acquire the services of Hojlund from Atalanta.
Even though his first Premier League goal of the season arrived on Boxing Day against Aston Villa, the Dane had already been firing in the Champions League, scoring five goals in the group stages.
However, since the match-winner at Old Trafford nearly three months ago, the 21-year-old has fully found his feet, performing to such a high standard that he’s scored in all of his last six league games, and won the Premier League Player of the Month award for February.
This insane run of form has taken Hojlund’s tally for the season up to 13 with two assists, which makes him United’s top goalscorer across all competitions, but one former loanee has also matched that number this campaign.
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ByTom LeverMar 15, 2024 Odion Ighalo’s record at Man Utd
In 2020, Man United were in desperate need of striker reinforcement due to Martial being the only available option for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
The solution to the problem was a loan deal for former Watford gem Odion Ighalo, who joined the club until the end of the season from Chinese outfit Shanghai Shenhua.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019/20 season was postponed, which initially saw Ighalo’s loan deal cut short, but United were able to extend his deal until January 2021 for a further fee, taking the total costs of the loan fee up to a huge £10.5m.
The Nigerian attacker never actually scored for the Red Devils in the Premier League over his spell, but he did have an impact on the Europa League and the domestic cup competitions, scoring five goals in 23 matches across all competitions, which equates to Ighalo costing United £2.1m per strike, without even considering wages.
However, fast forward to today, and the 34-year-old is playing his football in Saudi Arabia for Al-Wehda, where he’s been on fire, scoring 13 goals this season across all competitions, the same as Hojlund has achieved at Old Trafford.
23/24
20
12
0
22/23
27
19
2
21/22
31
24
5
20/21
13
9
3
Total
91
64
10
As you can see, Ighalo has actually outscored the 21-year-old domestically, and since moving to Saudi Arabia, the former Watford ace has been absolutely sensational in recent seasons.
In truth, United have missed a reliable goalscorer this season who can take some pressure off Hojlund while also serving as a rotation option, and maybe Ighalo could have provided just that had he still been at the club.
