I scored 66 goals for Man Utd & know that one is striker isn't going to get better - spending £72m was insane

Former Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke cannot see Rasmus Hojlund getting any better and has branded the Red Devils’ decision to pay £72m for him ‘insane’.

The Old Trafford outfit signed the Denmark striker for £72m back in the summer of 2023 as he penned a five-year deal in Manchester. He arrived at United after scoring 10 goals in 34 games for Serie A side Atalanta in the 2022-23 campaign.

He has since played 76 times for the Red Devils, scoring 23 goals and providing three assists. It is an average of one goal around every three games. However, the striker has struggled when it comes to the Premier League as he has netted just 12 times in the competition. That tally has come in 51 games, an average of just more than one goal every four games. This season he has netted just twice in 21 league games.

Yorke not confident in Hojlund

United have scored just 18 goals in Ruben Amorim’s 15 Premier League games in charge so far. However, 10 of those goals have come from players who have now left the club or who have been ruled out for the season - such as Amad Diallo. Yorke has not seen enough from Hojlund so far to suggest he will be the future number nine at the club and cannot see things improving moving forward.

Yorke spent four years at United, scoring 66 goals in 152 games. He won three Premier League titles in that time, along with the Champions League and FA Cup.

Speaking to casinobeats.com, Yorke said: “Even if you're a prospect, you've got to show why you're a prospect. Hojlund, I’m yet to see anything that suggests he’s the future number nine for Manchester United. He's not even close. You defend people as best you can.

“You give people a chance, but he's been there for nearly two seasons. It's not going to get any better than that. You're buying prospects for 72 million? That's insane. In the summer, that's probably an area that they'll be looking at. They must be looking at it, as will a lot of clubs.”

Amorim defends Hojlund

Speaking ahead of Wednesday’s Premier League clash with Ipswich Town, Amorim defended Hojlund’s goal return and said he was not receiving enough service from his teammates.

He said: "I think it's clear - we as a team, we are not helping Rasmus. We don't create a lot of chances, we had a lack of threat and you can feel it in the games. Sometimes we are in the final third but you don't feel it like we are a very dangerous team, and you feel it also when we are defending a little bit more... sometimes the opponents are not afraid of transitions. I have this feeling also as a coach, we are not helping also the strikers.

"I think Rasmus has a lot of potential. I think if we improve the way we play the game we'll have more opportunities to score. I think he came here very young, and when you are very young, to be the number nine and play all the time, sometimes it's hard. So it's everything together, it's the context."

In other news, it has been revealed why Liverpool did not appoint Ruben Amorim in the summer after a meeting between the parties took place.