Man United players hesitant to pass to young star due to doubts amid poor form under Erik ten Hag

Manchester United players are reportedly avoiding passing to Rasmus Hojlund because of a crisis in confidence in him – and Mail Sport can reveal who is passing to him less than before. 

Hojlund has hit another dry spell since coming back from injury in March, scoring just one goal in 10 games. 

His team-mates are unconvinced by him and one explained that some are looking for other options when they get in the final third, as reported by the Manchester Evening News.

It has been a muddled year for Hojlund since he joined from Atalanta for £72million in the summer on the back of a ten-goal season.

While he scored five goals in the Champions League group stages, he didn’t hit the back of the net once in his first 14 Premier League games.

He then went on a blistering run of seven goals in six between December and February, becoming the youngest-ever player to score in six conscutive Premier League games. 

However, he sustained a muscle injury on February 23 and his prolific form has vanished since. 

Thanks to Opta, Mail Sport can show a sheer drop-off in passes completed by certain team-mates over Hojlund’s last eight games.

The most damning is Alejandro Garnacho, who has completed just two passes to Hojlund over the last 573 minutes – more than six games’ worth of time. 

That’s an average of 0.31 passes per 90, as opposed to 12.6 passes per 90 before Hojlund got injured. 

There has also been a huge drop-off with Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s supply, plummeting from 1.76 passes per game to 0.68; and Scott McTominay, shooting down from 1.64 to 0.44. 

That’s despite United having marginally more possession over the period. it is worth noting that these stats are for passes completed, not attempted. 

It is also worth pointing out that some stars such as Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford are getting the ball to Hojlund with greater frequency, more than one pass per match more than before. 

Speaking with Mail Sport recently, former United frontman Andy Cole spoke about the difficulties of leading the line at a young age. Hojlund is 21. 

‘I’ve said many times that for such a young guy to come to Manchester United and score goals it’s difficult,’ Cole said.

‘To come to Man United and have no one to learn off, it’s difficult.

‘Me coming to Man United I had Sparky [Mark Hughes] and Eric [Cantona], they move on. I had Yorkey, Teddy, Ole, and I genuinely like to believe we all took something from each other’s game and we all learned from each other.

‘When you have a young man come to Man United and everyone says he’s Man United’s No 9… you’re like ‘he’s not experienced enough to be No 9′.’

Cole was speaking at the premiere of 99, an Amazon Prime documentary covering United’s iconic treble-winning season of 1998-99. 

Hojlund has faced his fair share of heat from Old Trafford icons. Roy Keane was scorching in his criticism in January. 

‘He’s been allowed some time to bed himself into the club and into English football,’ Keane said on Sky Sports. ‘But we’re talking about Manchester United.

‘These players don’t have desire to score, and he’s [Hojlund] not shown it. There have been players that have come to Manchester United and we’ve spoken about how ‘unlucky’ they are.

‘But you can’t keep waiting. He’s had chances and he’s had an injury when he arrived, so you might give him the benefit of the doubt, but the shooting and scoring statistics are so poor it’s unbelievable. It’s also down to the players around him – the more experienced ones – and I don’t see that desire in them.’