“Please come to Man Utd & Forget Chelsea” “Maresca not seeing the light” – Rio Ferdinand urges Man Utd to sign £62m Chelsea target
Rio Ferdinand has named the player Manchester United must sign in January who would not only score goals but help the struggling Rasmus Hojlund.
Finding the back of the net has been a huge problem for United this season, with only five teams scoring fewer goals in the Premier League.
With Marcus Rashford exiled, there is more pressure than ever on Hojlund who moved to Old Trafford in 2023 in a deal worth £72million.
The 21-year-old has so far managed 23 goals in 71 appearances in all competitions, but has only scored twice in the league this campaign, with Ferdinand singling him out for criticism after Sunday’s win at Fulham.
The Dane is the only natural striker in the first-team, a problem United appear no closer to fixing as the January transfer deadline approaches.
There is interest in Chelsea’s Christopher Nkunku but United legend Ferdinand believes the club should reignite their pursuit of Victor Osimhen, who is currently on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli.
‘I’ve watched Hojlund closely the last two games… it just doesn’t add up,’ an exasperated Ferdinand said on his YouTube channel.
‘I’d be going to get Osimhen now if we can do it from a financial standpoint. Get him on loan now!
‘Guarantees you someone who can get on the end of things, scores goals, experienced, done it at the top level.
‘I just feel like because Hojlund was £70m-odd we’re expecting the finished article. Unfortunately [he’s not]. He’s a young striker but normally a striker of that age comes in and learns off someone. He’s got nobody to learn off.
‘He’s looking at [Joshua] Zirkzee whose like him. They both need someone to learn what it takes to be a Manchester United No.9.
‘What are they doing every day? What type of drills are they doing? In games, how are they adapting to each centre-half? All of these questions he’s got in his head, he’s got nobody sitting there going, “this is what to do”.
‘A big part of the recruitment now is buying young talented players but there needs to be an element of who are they going to learn from on the job.’
Osimhen has been long tipped for a big money move to the Premier League or PSG, but no such transfer materialised last summer.
In the end he joined Turkish giants Galatasaray where he has so far scored 16 goals in just 20 appearances.
Reports suggest Ruben Amorim is a big fan and that Napoli will sell him immediately if their £62m valuation is met, but it seems unlikely his loan spell in Turkey will come to an early end this month.
As such, Hojlund and his teammates need to step up, starting with Thursday’s match at Romanian side FCSB in their final Europa League league phase clash.