Roy Keane doesn’t hold anything back when discussing Manchester United, and now one player has been the subject of serious criticism.
On Friday night, Ruben Amorim extended Manchester United’s winless streak in the Premier League to eight matches. This marked the team’s 18th league defeat of the season, and at this juncture, there is no longer any surprise, only confusion regarding how dire the situation must become before Amorim’s anticipated ‘storm’ subsides.
United suffered a 1-0 defeat to Chelsea, which felt more like a significant loss, resulting in a demoralizing evening that failed to generate any momentum for their upcoming match in Bilbao, although Tottenham also did not provide any.
The Europa League final presents a brief escape from their domestic struggles, yet it is crucial for United to secure a victory; otherwise, the consequences could be dire. Even a win in the final may not afford Amorim much leniency for the next season, as the fanbase is already showing signs of fatigue.
Nevertheless, given the players at Amorim’s disposal, he cannot be held entirely accountable for these difficulties, with Roy Keane singling one out for criticism.
Roy Keane slams Rasmus Hojlund for performance vs Chelsea
In the recent defeat, Rasmus Hojlund was notably the least effective player for United, losing nine duels and managing only 11 completed passes, contributing very little to the team’s efforts.
His performance was so disappointing that fans are calling for his exclusion from the final, suggesting that the team should forgo a striker altogether. Hojlund’s display fell significantly short of expectations, a fact highlighted by Keane during the post-match analysis on Sky Sports.
“They’ve got no striker. Hojlund tonight looked like a young kid for Chelsea, he looked like he’s just come out of the academy. His runs weren’t right, his timing, and his hold-up play.
“If you’re a striker playing for Manchester United, and you walk in and you’ve not had even one shot, the whole team has had one shot on target.
“We keep making excuses for him, talking about confidence, but when you’re a striker up there, you’ve got to make something happen, and what the big clubs have is strikers who can produce something by themselves even if they’re not getting great service.
“They can do this because they’ve got quality, a bit of desire and determination, a bit of experience… football intelligence, but you don’t see that with Hojlund so United are up against it all the time.
“Obviously, he needs a little bit of support, but my goodness, sometimes you’ve just got to do a little bit better.”
His remark that Hojlund lacks football intelligence essentially implies that the Dane is a bad football player, and this is accurate given two complete seasons.
As a result, a replacement is more urgently needed than before.
Manchester United must sign two strikers this summer
Given the precarious nature of Hojlund’s career at United, Ineos ought to prioritize securing a replacement for the Danish international. To this end, United is favored to acquire Liam Delap this summer, a move that promises proven Premier League goals and aligns with the type of player that Amorim appreciates.
Nevertheless, this acquisition alone may not suffice, as Hojlund should ideally be sold, having failed to demonstrate any compelling reason to retain him this season. Consequently, United requires two strikers; ideally, one would be a world-class talent like Victor Osimhen, from whom both Delap and Chido Obi could gain invaluable experience.
However, due to financial limitations, Jean-Philippe Mateta may emerge as a viable alternative, being a slightly older yet effective goalscorer with Premier League experience.
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