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Reading manager and former coach at FC Copenhagen Ruben Selles has backed Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund to live up to his potential and become one of the best in the world at his trade.
United spent £64 million in the summer to sign Hojlund from Atalanta.
He has shown very promising signs of what he can develop into if well nurtured and taken care of. Hojlund scored five goals in the Champions League before United’s elimination from the competition.
In the Premier League, the Denmark international has two goals to his name.
Selles worked as an assistant when Hojlund was in FC Copenhagen’s first team – from the goalscorer’s debut at the age of 17 in October 2020 through to his departure in January 2022.
The current Reading boss spoke to Training Ground Guru and gave some insight on Hojlund and why the player’s ceiling is so high.
“Rasmus Højlund is a learner. He learns a lot from the environment. From the time when he stepped into the first team in FC Copenhagen, he didn’t have enough playing time and found a league like the Austrian league. Austria is the league with the lowest average of PPDA, so that means it’s a league of high pressure and high transition moments.”
PPDA refers to Passes Per Defensive Action – an advanced metric that measures high pressing. It’s calculated by dividing the number of passes by the in-possession team in the final 60% of the pitch by the number of defensive actions.
Defensive actions in this case refer to standing tackles, interceptions, defensive duels won, fouls and sliding tackles.
A low PPDA signifies that a team is very strong in their pressing duties. A high PPDA suggests the opposite. The Austrian League has the lowest PPDA in Europe.
As per Selles, Hojlund strongly felt that the low PPDA in Austria would suit him best.
The 20-year-old’s move to Atalanta could have also been motivated by the same situation. Atalanta are also famous for their high press. This term, Gian Piero Gasperini’s men are third in Serie A, behind only Fiorentina and Napoli, for PPDA.
Selles told The Training Ground Guru about Hojlund, “We convinced him and his agent about our playing style, coaching approach, and the opportunities we could offer. Immediately when he went there he became a key player for his team – score goals, win balls really high, intense and that gave him the confidence to go into the next level.”
“In six months he makes his move to Atalanta, with Premier League clubs having him in the in their agenda. He went there, another team that likes to play that kind of high-pressure football, playing forward quick, and now in Manchester United he’s also getting in that level.”
Selles relayed his optimism that the United talisman can compete with the best of the best.
The Reading manager pointed out that every young player experiences setbacks but the most important thing is to always come back strong and perform better.
Selles further stated that Hojlund has extra pressure on his back due to the fact that he plays in the Premier League and leads the line for one of the biggest clubs in the world.
“I think with Rasmus you can expect him to be rated as one of the best strikers in the world. I think he will become that when also the United team will become more established.”
“He’s a mentality monster. He has a good family that take care of him. His two brothers are playing for FC Copenhagen actually for the first team right now. One of them was even in the squad when they played (United in the Champions League) and his environment is really strong and he’s a really strong character.”
Sells further stated that it’s only a matter of time until Hojlund connects with the fans and once he explodes, will be “unbelievably brilliant.”
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