Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund could learn a thing or two from ‘scruffy’ players like Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez, according to Jamie Carragher.
It emerged on Monday that several United players are reportedly reluctant to pass the ball to Hojlund after the £72m summer signing hit another goal drought.
It took Hojlund 15 games to register his first Premier League goal, which came in the 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
The 21-year-old enjoyed a subsequent purple patch but the goals have once again dried up.
Some have blamed a lack of service from his teammates with Hojlund only receiving the ball 14 times in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal at Old Trafford.
Carragher, though, has told Hojlund to take notes from Liverpool star Nunez as well as Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson.
‘He (Hojlund) doesn’t get enough shots in the game,’ Carragher told Sky Sports. ‘I know you can go back to the fact they don’t create, they’re a little bit selfish.
‘I get all that but sometimes a striker can’t just rely on service. You’ve got to do things yourself.
‘I actually can picture Nunez and Jackson doing something on their own, almost a bit mad, scruffy, but a burst of pace in behind, knocking a defender out the way. I don’t really see that physicality from Hojlund.’
Fellow pundit Gary Neville disagreed with that stance as he added: ‘I think he’s physical, I think he’s got a mentality, he’s a tough kid.
‘I think he’s playing in a struggling team, in a difficult environment. He’s not the problem at Manchester United, he’s someone to persevere with.
‘If I was playing at Manchester United and he came into the squad 15-20 years ago, I’d think there’s something to work with there. Those attributes, that sort of running power.’
Quizzed if United needed to sign a new striker at the end of the season, Neville said: ‘That’s the problem for Manchester United.
‘Every player that has signed there in the last ten years has struggled and for young players it’s difficult, it’s really difficult.
‘I hope they can sign another striker in the summer to support him, to be a partner for him, to mentor him, so he can learn off.’
Carragher, though, does not see things the same way and feels that bringing in a new striker would ‘kill’ Hojlund.
‘If you bring a top striker now, you kill him,’ Carragher added.
‘Once you’ve given him this first year you’ve almost got to give him next season and see if he is up to it.
‘I think to bring someone else in now, and he is almost like the second striker, I think it makes it really difficult for him.’
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