Rasmus Hojlund proved Erik ten Hag's two-word verdict right on Manchester United debut

Erik ten Hag felt two words would do the job. In a press conference dominated by discussion around Rasmus Hojlund ahead of his Manchester United debut, Ten Hag was asked about the mentality of the 20-year-old about to pull on one of the heaviest shirts in world football.

United did their due diligence on Hojlund's personality as well as his abilities and since his arrival in the first week of August, Ten Hag has had the chance to get to know the Dane who now carries the burden of being the man United's goalscoring hopes are pinned on.

So what is his mentality like, the inquisitor wanted to know. "He's brave," Ten Hag said, with the kind of confidence and forcefulness that we've come to expect when he has a point to get across.

Anything else? "He is brave, he has belief and the rest will come." It was a fascinating answer about a player United acknowledge as a rough diamond that Ten Hag will need to polish.

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Unfortunately, a £72million price tag and an expectation he will score goals for the club mean that will happen in the public eye. Hojlund won't get the chance to fine-tune his craft in a quiet and calm environment. He will do it at a club that attracts more headlines, sound bites, column inches and talk show phone-ins than any other in the world.

So it is understandable to wonder whether a 20-year-old whose experience for the job is one season with Atalanta, a recently successful Serie A club but one with a far lower profile than those in Milan, Rome and Turin, might cope with that.

Ten Hag's responses invited intrigue as much as anything. Brave isn't the usual adjective managers turn to when discussing the mentality of their players.

He also praised Hojlund's