Erik ten Hag knows how to fulfil Bruno Fernandes wish at Manchester United

If Rasmus Hojlund is to find success at Manchester United then forging an on-pitch relationship with Bruno Fernandes will prove crucial.

Almost a month after arriving in a £72million deal from Atalanta, Hojlund got his long-awaited debut off the bench in United's 3-1 defeat at Arsenal last weekend. Despite being on the losing side, the 20-year-old showed plenty to excite supporters.

As a striker, success for Hojlund will be measured by goals and if the Dane is to find the net consistently for Erik ten Hag's side, then a connection between himself and Fernandes is essential. The Portuguese midfielder is United's creator-in-chief and was so often the one finding last season's top-scorer, Marcus Rashford.

A huge part of Rashford's success came from forging a link with Fernandes, and the United captain hopes to replicate that telepathy with his new teammate Hojlund.

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"Of course I want to build that connection with him that I have with the other strikers and wingers," Fernandes told club media earlier this week. "I'm here to serve them so I want them to feel happy that they will get their chances.

"After that it's about them getting the goals. I want my strikers and wingers to score goals and I want to see their happy faces celebrating in front of the Stretford End."

But while the magic of telepathy makes for a better story, the relationship between Fernandes and Rashford was forged by hard work on the training ground. Ten Hag puts a lot of focus on developing connections between players, whether it be creator and scorer, winger and full-back or centre-back partners.

Rashford and Fernandes were an obvious pairing for the former, and speaking in March,