Rasmus Højlund insists he wants to stay and fight for his place at Old Trafford, despite Manchester United’s eagerness to sign a new striker. Ruben Amorim was unable to offer the Danish international any guarantees over his future after Højlund scored in a 4-1 pre-season win over Bournemouth on Wednesday.
United are interested acquiring either Benjamin Sesko or Ollie Watkins after a difficult season in front of goal when they scored 44 goals in 38 games on the way to a disappointing 15th-placed finish. Højlund has struggled since his £72m move from Atalanta two years ago, scoring 14 times in 62 league appearances but got the opener in Chicago. Patrick Dorgu, Amad Diallo and Ethan Williams increased the lead while Bournemouth’s consolation came courtesy of a Matthijs de Light own goal.
“The most important [thing] for me is to keep working hard and stay focused and then we’ll see what happens,” Højlund said. “My plan is very clear and that is for me to stay and fight for my spot.”
United have been linked with a number of strikers, missing out on Liam Delap and Hugo Ekitike, with Sesko and Watkins topping the current shortlist. “Competition is fine with me, it sharpens me,” Højlund said. “I’m more than ready.”
Højlund has worked hard at United, but that has not been rewarded with goals, nor has he received consistent service. “I’m really happy with Rasmus, but I don’t know what is going to happen until the end of the market,” Amorim said.
“The important thing is that Rasmus is scoring goals. He’s connecting really well with the team. He’s improving. I don’t know what is going to happen until the market is closed. We suffered a lot because of the lack of goals last season.”
Matheus Cunha did not play due to fatigue while fellow new signing Bryan Mbeumo is scheduled to make his first appearance against Everton in Atlanta on Sunday. Harry Maguire was replaced by De Ligt at half-time as United continue to treat the centre-back with caution.
“He had an issue during the holidays, during training,” Amorim said. “He’s a little bit late [in his training schedule] so we have to be careful with him. It’s just a little bit fatigue with the training so we are trying to control everything and saving all the players, to give the exact minutes they need.”
Left-back Dorgu, who joined for £25m from Lecce in February, provided the assist for Højlund before getting on the scoresheet himself and he was another player who caught Amorim’s eye. “He looks more and more like he belongs in Manchester United and that is hard to do it at 20 years old so I’m really impressed with Patrick,” said the United boss, who was equally happy with Williams’s goal. “I celebrate that goal. It’s not usual, even during the season, but I celebrate that goal because I really like to see the kids that work really well.”
Amorim believes the work done in pre-season, something he was not able to do having arrived in November, is paying dividends. “I’m really happy with the players that we had last season. They are improving. We look like a different team today. Let’s continue with that.
“But again, it’s a pre-season game. The pressure is going to be so much different during the season. It’s important for them to understand that the same players can play a different game.”
