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After seeing his Manchester United gamers wrestle to seek out the again of the web in his first season accountable for the membership, supervisor Erik ten Hag determined early on that the membership wanted to recruit an elite striker in the summertime switch window.
Ten Hag’s first choice was reportedly to signal Tottenham Hotspur’s report goalscorer Harry Kane, however finally monetary issues noticed the deal deserted because the Englishman left for Bayern Munich as a substitute.
United finally took a danger and opted to signal Atalanta’s wonderkid Rasmus Hojlund, a self-confessed United fan, for giant cash and the participant was delighted to hitch his dream membership.
Rasmus nominated
That gamble has actually paid off within the Champions League, with the Dane at the moment high scorer in Europe’s elite competitors with 5 objectives in 4 video games.
And even higher information, the striker has simply been nominated for Denmark’s Participant of the 12 months award, along with his Premier League compatriot Joachim Andersen and Barcelona star Andreas Christensen as fellow nominees.
“In Denmark we’ve got many wonderful footballers. However within the 2023 soccer yr, three specifically stand out.
“As a result of in keeping with the gamers – the true specialists – Joachim Andersen, Rasmus Højlund and Andreas Christensen have been extraordinary.
“And that’s the reason the three gamers of the nationwide group have been nominated for the award as Male Footballer of the 12 months 2023,” the official web site for the awards introduced.
It has been a meteoric rise for the 20-year-old who performed within the Austrian Bundesliga for Sturm Graz simply over a yr in the past.
In simply over a yr he signed for Atalanta, the place the Copenhagen-born star scored ten instances and earned a transfer to the Theater of Desires.
Fast rise
His kind for his nation was the stuff of goals. In 2023, the participant began the method with a hat-trick towards Finland of their European Championship qualifiers.
In eight video games this calendar yr, Hojlund has scored seven instances and supplied one help in eight video games and has already turn into the talisman of his nationwide group.
The Danish gamers will select who will win the Participant of the 12 months award on January 6. The prize is awarded by the Gamers Affiliation and DBU in collaboration with Hessel HiRE.
Present United star Christian Eriksen has received the award 5 instances, probably the most in Danish historical past.