Manchester United goal Rasmus Hojlund has been in comparison with Erling Haaland. With unique perception from those that have labored with the Atalanta striker, Adam Bate finds out why the Dane is described as a rock-star footballer and the full bundle…

It is simple to imagine that comparisons with Erling Haaland are neither warranted nor wished however Rasmus Hojlund may be the exception. Denmark’s rock-star striker, labelled the full bundle, doesn’t shrink back from ideas of a resemblance.

“I can see the similarities. He is fast. I am also fast. He is left-footed. I am also left-footed. He is strong and I am strong too.” Hojlund may need added that they each have a straightforward confidence. It may see him be part of Haaland in Manchester subsequent season.

Interest from Manchester United underlines the speedy rise of a precocious expertise who had but to attain his first league purpose when he left Copenhagen for Sturm Graz in January of final 12 months. He was there simply seven months earlier than being bought on to Atalanta.

Such was his affect in Austria that the membership acquired a price of €17m (£14.56m) – round ten instances what they’d paid. His subsequent success in Serie A method Atalanta can demand much more too. But what did Sturm Graz see within the man now touted as United’s subsequent famous person?

For sporting director Andreas Schicker, Hojlund is the template. “The idea here is to have success on the pitch with a team built around a few more experienced leaders who are surrounded by young, talented players who we want to develop,” he tells Sky Sports.

“We get them ready for the next step, have success and make a profit. Rasmus is a very good example of it working perfectly. He came, he excelled, he helped us to achieve our goals, made a name for himself and moved to a bigger club in a bigger league.

“One of our strengths is that once we scout a participant, now we have a very clear and outlined profile for each place. For a striker, we seek for any person with quite a lot of velocity and depth of their sport. We scouted Rasmus actually early and noticed he was an ideal match.

“Another very important part was that we checked on his character early in the process, having video calls with him and his family. His mental strength was extremely impressive, especially for a player of that age – he was only 18 years old back then.”

The man tasked with integrating him into the workforce, Sturm Graz head coach Christian Ilzer, echoes these sentiments about fashion. When Schicker talks of ‘depth’ he’s referring to these line-breaking runs in behind the defence that Hojlund makes time and time once more.

“We try to bring the strikers into the game as quickly as possible and to be as vertical as possible to hurt the opponents – that needs a lot of sprints and a lot of quick decisions from our strikers, and I think those are big strengths of Rasmus,” Ilzer tells Sky Sports.

“I think it was key that our philosophy and style fitted his skillset perfectly so he came into a good environment. Ras was a great addition to our team with his abilities. It was his speed, his general physique and his willingness to work hard against the ball.”

Ilzer was equally impressed together with his character, describing him as very open, pleasant and humorous – but it surely was greater than that. This was an adolescent shifting overseas for the primary time however from that first assembly throughout a coaching camp in Slovenia his confidence was clear.

“We had an extremely close look at Rasmus before we signed him, looking beyond the player, so I already had a clear vision of him as a person. But when he arrived in Catez, he still surprised me in a positive way in every aspect in terms of him as a person.

“He ‘arrived’ within the workforce extraordinarily shortly due to his extrovert character. There was a second in opposition to Rapid Wien – this was solely his second sport with us – when he scored and celebrated his purpose enthusiastically proper in entrance of the Rapid supporters.

“I tried to make him understand that this was not the right way. But I also soon understood that he needs this big stage. He needs this ‘extra’. Playing for and against the fans is not hindering him but pushing him to find that extra five per cent in his game.

“He has this nice perspective and aura round him. A full stadium will not be one thing that intimidates him, it pushes him. It doesn’t matter whether it is at house or within the opposition stadium. There is one thing inside him to be at ‘one’ with the followers and to excite them.

“It is like the pitch is a concert stage and he is a rock star, there to excite the crowd. He feels naturally comfortable on that stage. It is why he was an instant fan-favourite in his short time here and it is also why he is made for the biggest stages in football.”

As nicely as that purpose in opposition to Rapid, there have been two extra in a win over Red Bull Salzburg final August, a efficiency that alerted golf equipment across the continent. Schicker quickly appreciated that the membership’s long-term imaginative and prescient for Hojlund was nicely forward of schedule.

“Everybody saw that he was destined for bigger things,” he says. “We helped to refine his profile as a player and the next step was impossible to hold off when he started so well last summer. With Atalanta, I think he found an excellent club for that next step.”

His affect in Italy was equally swift. Experienced coach Gian Piero Gasperini admitted that whereas he had anticipated Hojlund’s operating skill, the participant’s resilience, his willingness to proceed making these penetrating runs, got here as a shock even to him.

There was a purpose in his first Serie A begin earlier than Hojlund got here into his personal after the World Cup, scoring in 4 consecutive appearances. Five targets in two video games for Denmark throughout the March worldwide break additional underlined his ever-improving sport.

At the top of the season, he ranked among the many high 10 gamers in Serie A for targets scored from open play, pictures heading in the right direction and touches contained in the opposition penalty field per 90 minutes. Such type appears prone to fast-track him onto the subsequent step at simply 20.

The attraction for United is apparent. It isn’t just that he fills a void up entrance and never simply that he’s a United supporter. International team-mate Philip Billing has described him as a United participant. He is born for the most important stage and has the character to steal it.

“I am confident in his abilities and that he has a great future ahead of him at the highest level in Europe,” provides Schicker. “His skills, with all his speed, power and quality in front of goal, as well as his mindset and personality, make him the total package as a striker.”