RASMUS HØJLUND - DENMARK'S NEW GOAL KING
There is no doubt about his talent. Not even in Hørsholm-Usserød Idrætsklub, where he laced up his football boots as a young boy. This summer's big transfer news has really put a smile on his face. Not least because the club's talent manager also remembers a young Rasmus Højlund as a bit of a wild boy: "He hung from the lamps and the ceiling in the locker room. He was all over the place," his youth coach Christian Moroux told the media house Kosmopol in an interview. That was after Rasmus Højlund's fantastic hat-trick in the international match against Finland back in March.
On the face of it, his road to stardom has been an easy one. Of course, a lot of work has been put into training and hundreds of matches. And in the beginning, there were some doubts about his ability to manage his talent. After six years with Brøndby and FC Copenhagen's youth teams, he was ready for the Copenhagen club's first team in 2021. The jump from the youth ranks to the Superliga seemed to be a bit of a mouthful for the 17-year-old star-in-the-making.
In a cup match against Nykøbing Falster, things went seriously wrong for FC Copenhagen. Not even half an hour had passed before the score was 2-0 to the 1st division club. The coach at the time replaced two of his players.
Denmark's most expensive footballer
Now, two years later, he can - with his head held high - not only call himself a regular member of the Danish national team. He can also call himself a Manchester United striker. Bought for a fortune from Italian Atalanta BC.
The exact purchase price is the subject of much speculation. But the most valid estimates suggest a transfer fee of just under 65.5 million pounds - plus various bonuses, which brings Manchester United's costs up to around 74 million pounds. This unconditionally makes Rasmus Højlund Denmark's most expensive footballer ever.
And even though he still has to settle for a lower position in the hierarchy, he certainly won't go to bed hungry. He can look forward to a weekly salary of 72,000 pounds! Or an annual salary of around 3,5 million pounds. And a salary increase has already been negotiated during the five-year contract. A lot has happened in his life since the cup match in Nykøbing F. two years ago. First of all, after that blunder, he was put on the sales list and ended up signing a contract with Sturm Graz in Austria in January 2022. And now the goals really started to come. He scored 12 goals in the first season, but after the summer break he moved on to Atalanta in Italy, who reportedly paid around 14,5 million pounds. Here the goal scoring streak continued. But only a year had to pass before Manchester United's Dutch manager, Erik ten Hag, took in the Danish super-talent, who is often compared to Norwegian Erling Haaland, who, as we all know, has successfully sent arch-rivals Manchester City to the top of the English Premier League.
It probably didn't diminish United's interest that Rasmus Højlund broke into the Danish national team with a genuine hat-trick. And this even in the first match in which he was included in the starting line-up. It was indeed a strange and nerve wrecking match for the Danish football fans. Rasmus Højlund started out well with an early goal, making it 1-0. But a Finnish equalizer at the start of the second half made the atmosphere in Parken in Copenhagen somewhat dull. At least until Højlund closed the game with two goals. The 2-1 goal in particular made commentators and the coach realize that Denmark had a new 'nine' - a new man at the top who was able to score goals. These were real striker goals, where Højlund threw himself in between friends and enemies to heave the ball into the net.
It was a performance that prompted national coach Kasper Hjulmand to remark, somewhat understatedly, that "this is how a striker should be if you want to get somewhere in this world!"
And in the following two games, they also scored two goals in a somewhat embarrassing 3-2 defeat to Kazakhstan and one in the 1-1 draw against Slovenia. Boasting six goals in three international matches is a modest achievement. No wonder there are now whispers in the corners that he is the new Preben Elkjær – a legendary Danish football star from the 80’s.
Neither Danish nor international commentators have concerns about Højlund's potential. There is open talk that Manchester United's new acquisition has potential on the same level as Norwegian Erling Haaland.
Rasmus Højlund himself says that he is proud to be compared to Erling Haaland, but that it doesn't make sense yet. "I don't want to be compared to him yet. He's fierce. I hope I can reach his level. I want to put more into my game. And if I can reach his level, that would be fantastic," he told the Danish news outlet 21 Søndag in an interview this summer.
Concern
But with such an explosive development as Rasmus Højlund has experienced over the past two years - and not least with the prospect of earning many millions - there is also a certain amount of concern in his surroundings. It has been seen before that new football millionaires find it difficult to navigate their way safely through a minefield of clubs' enormous expectations on the field, demanding fans and a hungry press.
Francis Dickoh is a football expert and former professional footballer for, among others, the Dutch and Danish clubs Utrecht, FC Midtjylland and Sønderjyske. He says about Rasmus Højlund's new life at Manchester United: "What has happened in modern football is that players like Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland have set the bar extremely high. This means that clubs are starting to look at which very young players they can bring into the team. Who can we develop into the new stars?"
It was the journey that, for example, Nicklas Bendtner didn’t manage successfully as a young player, he continuous and ads, “but it looks like Højlund has some good people around him."
In any case, Francis Dickoh believes that Rasmus Højlund has the tools to build a successful career at Manchester United. "Scoring goals continuously is a difficult exercise. But Højlund has all the tools. We must remember to cherish that. And we must remember to enjoy and respect that.
Manchester United's expenses amount to around 74 million pounds, making Rasmus Højlund by far Denmark's most expensive soccer player ever.
Self-confidence
In Rasmus Højlund's third international match, he scored three goals in Parken against Finland. A few days later, two goals in Kazakhstan. After that match he said: "I believe in my own abilities. Otherwise I wouldn't be where I am. I'm a guy who wants to show off without losing my humility."
And these are not empty words. In an interview in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last year, he said that his finances had grown considerably as a natural result of the club switch to Atalanta. And that it had also benefited his family.
"There are some perks to being a soccer player. But I'm still just Rasmus. I mostly just focus on playing football. My parents have received a small part of the finances that have been sent my way. It's thanks to them that I'm standing here today. I couldn't have gotten this far without them."
Nor did he seem to miss anything in Italy. He lived alone in a large apartment in Bergamo. An apartment with a nice roof terrace and a large SUV in the parking lot. If there was one thing he missed in Bergamo, it was company. "In the beginning, I got good help from Joakim Mæhle, who picked me up for training and helped me settle in at the club."
New home turf
Now he has moved to Manchester, where he will be teammates with Christian Eriksen. Another upheaval in Rasmus Højlund's life. In early August, he was introduced to his new home ground: the iconic stadium in Old Trafford.
All in all, his life has been turned upside down since the five-year contract was signed. First the obligatory medical check-up, then the presentation at the stadium. Now, together with a team of helpers, he is in the process of finding a home, a new car and everything else needed to continue his career in the Premier League.
In terms of sports, Rasmus Højlund can look forward to plenty of matches in one of the world's toughest leagues. And, of course, new international challenges. In the draw for the Champions League group stage, Manchester United were placed in the same group as his old club FC Copenhagen. When Manchester United and Rasmus Højlund come to Parken this fall, there is a chance that he will play against his younger brother Oscar Højlund, who made his debut for FCK last August.
There are huge expectations that Rasmus Højlund can help bring the Red Devils back to their former glory.