Former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has encouraged Rasmus Hojlund to be more demanding of his teammates and “push the buttons of some of the players around him”.
Hojlund, who missed the opening five games of the season due to hamstring injury, has scored twice in six outings since his return, including the winner in Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Brentford. It means he has netted 18 times in 49 matches for United since arriving last summer.
The Dane is almost exclusively seen between the width of the penalty box, often playing off the final defender. The deft chip for Saturday’s goal came after taking up such a position.
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Berbatov noted that the 21-year-old frequently makes runs in behind but is at times not seen or passed to. The Bulgarian said Hojlund has a right to be “angry” about that and urged him to be more assertive with his on-field requests.
“I think as a striker he needs to be more demanding and arguing," Berbatov told Rio Ferdinand’s YouTube channel. “Not being so nice and just pushing the buttons of some of the players around him.
“Like give me the ball, asking for the ball, when the ball is not coming because I can see that he was doing some runs behind the defence and then nobody was seeing him. That should make you angry, you have a point to be angry after this one.”
Hojlund has yet to play a full 90 minutes this season as he is edged back gradually following his hamstring injury. During the international break, the Danish forward admitted he was not fit enough to last 90 minutes against Spain.
He played 57 minutes in that game
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