Rasmus Hojlund may have discovered his scoring touch but Erik ten Hag was reluctant to hail the Dane as Manchester United’s “main man”.
“I don’t see it that way,” the stern-faced Dutchman insisted when Hojlund was framed in such lofty terms. Yet, the free-scoring 21-year-old is unquestionably United’s main striker.
With Anthony Martial taking up his usual spot in the treatment room, Ten Hag admitted that he would have to get “a little bit creative” if Hojlund also pulled up. After racking up eight goals in as many matches, Hojlund duly sustained a calf injury, robbing Ten Hag of his non-main man.
Rather than turn to Antony, a player that Ten Hag pushed to sign for £85m, United’s manager handed a maiden Premier League start to Omari Forson for the visit of Fulham on Saturday afternoon.
In fairness, the 19-year-old did boast more top-flight assists this season than his Brazilian counterpart despite playing a grand total of five minutes ahead of his full debut. Here’s everything you need to know about Hojlund’s surprise stand-in.
When Lionel Messi’s father was searching for a club willing to fund the growth hormone treatment for his son, he got the camera out. Little Lionel managed 113 keepie-uppies with an orange and 140 with a tennis ball although he could barely break double digits when a ping-pong ball was tossed his way. The tape eventually found its way into the hands of the agent Josep Maria Minguella, who facilitated Messi’s move to Barcelona.
Whether the Forson family knew Messi’s backstory or not, they took the same approach. Footage of Omari has proliferated YouTube since he turned six.
Forson was filmed juggling an ordinary football 100 times in his back garden and in action on the pitch. The ball practically comes up to his knee while weaving between the seams of his billowing jersey in a video with a title comparing the child to Messi. It would not be the last time a premature comparison was made.
Forson was regularly decked out in West Ham apparel while posing in front of the camera in his youth. A Hammer since the age of five, Forson was incredibly the subject of admiring glances from other clubs since his ninth birthday.
In one report from the Daily Mail, Forson – who, remember, was in year 5 at the time – was compared to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, apparently without any hint of irony.
The London-born winger did move to Tottenham Hotspur’s youth system before making the switch to Manchester United in 2019. Arsenal were thought to be sniffing around the…
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