Rasmus Hojlund has been backed to shine at Manchester United in the coming years, by the man who discovered him for Sturm Graz.
Andreas Schicker is the man who is credited with discovering the now Manchester United striker, signing him for Sturm Graz from FC Copenhagen in a €1.95m deal in January 2022.
It means he knows all about the striker and the career path he’s taken so far, something he has now discussed with Sport 1.
Hojlund has enjoyed a rapid rise since joining Sturm Graz in the January transfer window last year, managing 12 goals and four assists in the second half of that campaign before a €20m move to Atalanta in August last year.
A strong debut campaign in Italy followed, with him bagging ten assists and four goals in 34 games in all competitions for the club.
That tally did not go unnoticed, and he was quickly linked with several big names across Europe, all of whom had been chasing strikers this summer.
Manchester United ultimately won the race for the 20-year-old, paying Atalanta a €75m fee to ensure he would be their new striker moving forwards.
The pressure is now on Hojlund to live up to that fee and justify it, something Schnicker is absolutely certain he will have no problem doing.
“After the first training sessions and games, I already knew that he wouldn’t be with us for that long,” he said.
“In his first interview for an Austrian newspaper, Rasmus said that Haaland was his role model. That was of course the story for us.
“The comparison with Haaland was dangerous. But everyone at the club believed in Rasmus. Hojlund is very similar to Haaland, especially in terms of speed and robustness.
“Haaland is of course a bit older and has more experience, but I have a lot of confidence in Rasmus, and I am convinced that he will prevail at Manchester United.
“His father once told me: “Manchester United is his dream”. That’s how the boy works, he sets his mind to something and then he achieves it.”
