Ruben Amorim backed to get 'great' Man Utd star 'up and running' as £66m transfer snubbed

New Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has been urged to keep faith with Rasmus Hojlund by one of the club’s former Champions League heroes. The Portuguese boss will be in the dugout for the first time at Portman Road on Sunday, when the Red Devils go to Ipswich in the Premier League.

Following his £72million move from Atalanta in the summer of 2023, Hojlund has scored just 18 times in 55 club appearances, and the Dane has regularly cut a frustrated figure having appeared isolated during matches. And the arrival of Amorim has inevitably sparked speculation that Viktor Gyokores will follow his ex-manager from Sporting CP.

The Swedish striker scored 66 times in just 68 matches under the 39-year-old in Portugal, and has been linked with a host of Europe’s top clubs – and Sporting president Frederico Varandas will reportedly consider offers in the region of £66million.

Wes Brown however, believes that Hojlund has all the attributes to become a success in England. And at 21, he thinks Amorim will be better served trying to get the best out of the youngster rather than spend big in the transfer window.

“First of all, when a new manager comes in he will always have some players in mind,” he told Express Sport. “That’s just the way it goes. But whether that happens in January? I have my doubts.

“But Hojlund’s a great young player, he’s shown so much determination. He hasn’t been able to put the ball in the back of the net regularly and that’s half our problem, we do a lot of individual stuff. Team wise we haven’t been creating a lot.”

But speaking on behalf of William Hill, Brown believes that Amorim’s renowned 3-4-3 formation, one he seemed to immediately implement in his first training session on Monday morning, will help the forward. “I do feel once Hojlund starts and gets up and running….and the new style. I feel there will be more opportunities for him.”

Amorim will reportedly be handed a modest budget by the INEOS, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and co wary that many of the big-money signings under Erik ten Hag have thus far failed to justify their fees. But Brown, who twice lifted European football’s most prestigious prize and also won seven Premier League titles in a 15-year stint with United, believes the new boss already has the talent he needs at his disposal.

“Listen, I watch the team every game and I feel like certain players, regardless of who they are, can play well for three weeks and then they have a dip,” he added. “It doesn’t mean they’re bad players, it’s just somehow they need to play well consistently. You look at the squad and there’s actually a lot of good players there.

“With a different formation, players might have to change position slightly. But I do feel he understands that he’s got really good players there and now it’s about him getting the best out of them in how he likes to play.”

Hojlund was one of a host of players absent from Amorim’s first session. He’s currently on international duty, and appeared as a substitute in Denmark’s 0-0 Nations League draw at Serbia on Monday night.