Ruben Amorim admits he doesn’t know what the future holds for Rasmus Hojlund at Old Trafford after Manchester United made the first move towards signing Benjamin Sesko.
Hojlund scored United’s first goal in the 4-1 win over Bournemouth in Chicago and laid claim to another on the day that it emerged that RB Leipzig star Sesko is the club’s No.1 striker target.
It has left the Dane’s situation at Old Trafford in some doubt, two years after he joined United from Atalanta for £72million, and Amorim was unable to offer any guarantees despite being pleased with Hojlund’s contribution.
‘I am really happy with Rasmus,’ said the United boss. ‘I don’t know what is going to happen until the end of the market. The important thing is that Rasmus is scoring goals. He’s connecting really well with the team. He’s improving.
‘Again, I don’t know what is going to happen until the market is closed. I’m really happy with the players that we had last season. We looked like a different team today. Let’s continue with that.’
Goals from Hojlund, Patrick Dorgu, Amad Diallo and Ethan Williams put United in command before a late own-goal by Matthijs de Ligt gave Bournemouth some consolation. Hojlund claimed that he got a touch to Diallo’s effort, but it was awarded to the Ivorian.
Ruben Amorim admitted that he doesn’t know if Rasmus Hojlund will remain at Man United this summer
Hojlund netted as United defeated Bournemouth 4-1 in a pre-season friendly in Chicago
But the 22-year-old could find himself falling down the pecking order if United are able to sign top target Benjamin Sesko
It was slick, impressive performance from United following Saturday’s 2-1 win over West Ham in New Jersey, and Amorim is encouraged by what he has seen so far.
‘I think it was a good game,’ he added. ‘We played with intensity. We were aggressive and that is something that we need to improve on from last season.
‘I think we had better possessions compared to the last game, so they are listening. Of course, scoring first in the beginning of the game can change the confidence of the team.
‘We changed some positions and you feel that they know what to do in different positions. It was a good test. But the feeling with the same players, even being a pre-season game, if you look at the same players now playing, it looks like a different team and that is a good sign.
‘More than the results, it’s the way they are playing. I think it’s really important. They are playing better also because they are connecting better with each other. Not just on the pitch, but off the pitch.
‘I think they are stronger, they are faster. In this moment, of course, it’s a pre-season. But you can see the intensity is completely different. I can see the data from the minutes are completely different. So we are improving. But again, it’s a pre-season game. The pressure is going to be so much different during the season.’
Matheus Cunha missed the game with what was described as fatigue and Amorim gave a similar reason for replacing Harry Maguire with De Ligt at half-time.
‘He (Maguire) had an issue during training in the holidays,’ explained Amorim. ‘He’s a little bit late, so we have to be careful with him. It’s just a little bit of fatigue with the training. We are trying to control everything and saving all the players to give the exact minutes that they need.’
