The view from Denmark on Rasmus Hojlund’s move to Manchester United

Manchester United are on the verge of signing Rasmus Hoyland from Atalanta. With us to tell us more about the player is Danish journalist Morten Brun. Morten, thanks very much for coming on. How much excitement is there about this deal in Denmark with Hoyland on the verge of joining one of the biggest clubs in the world? Yeah, the excitement is pretty huge in Denmark. Manchester United is probably the club with the most Danish fans at all and Rasmus Hoyland is our striker from the national team. So I would say that with this transfer getting ever closer, it will be the biggest transfer story in Danish football ever. So the excitement is huge. Tell us more about him as a player. What can Manchester United fans expect? They can expect a very committed player, a player with a high work rate and with a great attitude. His development in Denmark has been sensational. It's only one and a half years ago that FC Copenhagen, the leading Danish club, let him go and brought in five new strikers. They let him go to Austria and now with only one season behind him in the Serie A. And as people might be aware, Rasmus Hoyland didn't even join the squad for the Danish World Cup in Qatar. So his development has been absolutely sensational. People are questioning whether he's ready for the Premier League now or whether he needed another year or two elsewhere. Does he need time to develop or can he hit the ground running? I would say that he needs a bit of time to develop. He's only 20 years old and I accept that when Manchester United call for you, you just join Manchester United, why wouldn't you? But he's not the finished article. He did sensationally well when you looked at his age and his story when he came to the Serie A last year. But he was also benched for a couple of times at Atalanta. So I think it's a very, very big step for Rasmus Hoyland to join a club like Manchester United at this moment in time. What do you think about the price? Is that fair? Yeah, what do you think about prices in international football? When you look at his age, he's only 20 years old. And when you look at his potential and when you look at the price that Manchester United pay for players, I'd say it's fair enough, really. OK, and the thing is, right, he's blonde, he's a striker and he's left-footed. Is that where the comparisons with Erling Haaland end? I'd say yes. They're both from Scandinavian countries and some British people might not be aware that Norway and Sweden are different countries, but they are. And I would say that it's a tough call for Rasmus Hoyland to be compared to Erling Haaland. Erling Haaland was, in my opinion, much more the finished article when he joined Manchester City. And if Manchester United fans expect Rasmus Hoyland to score 36 times in the Premier League next season, I'm afraid they'd be disappointed. But in a reasonable amount of time, I think they'll be happy about Rasmus Hoyland. I think he's got the potential, but he'll be even better in two or three seasons' time. Morten, that was great insight. We really appreciate it. Thank you.