Rio Ferdinand has offered some piece of advice to struggling Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund after the £72million star attracted negative headlines following his performance against Wolves.
Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Wolves on Sunday and Hojlund failed to impress. The 22-year-old was substituted after 70 minutes and this sparked reactions from fans and pundits.
Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer labelled him ‘damaged’ in a stinging review of where Hojlund is at right now.
But Ferdinand, who won six league titles and the Champions League in a 12-year spell at United, has offered Hojlund advice, telling him to ‘simplify’ his game and ‘strip it back’ to his strengths.
Rasmus Hojlund challenged by Toti Gomes of Wolverhampton Wanderers. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Speaking on the Rio Present podcast, the pundit said: ‘He’s got to get hold of the winger and say “this is what I need. When you’re in these positions this is what I’d like.”
He added: ‘Lets take it back. Put yourself in positions to show your best attributes. At the moment we’re seeing far too many of your weakest attributes.
‘You need to free yourself up from any contact and start running.
‘That’s the one big thing I would say to any player struggling for confidence. Strip it back, simplify and do what has got you there.
Former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves added: ‘I think the moments you see him struggle are when his back is to play. So don’t put yourself in that spot all the time, spin.
‘The guy is one of the quickest players in Europe by the way.
‘The problem is he gets caught all the time, he takes too many touches.
Hargreaves said the struggling striker should model himself on Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski.
Hojlund scored 10 league goals in his debut Premier League season last year after arriving from Atalanta but has only bagged three times in 28 league appearances this campaign.
