Manchester United completed a £72m for the Danish striker in the summer after a meteoric rise in the last 20 months.
Rasmus Hojlund's former youth coach, Christian Mouroux, has revealed that the Danish striker's younger brothers were "more obvious talents," and remarked that the former Atalanta striker "was never a standout talent," even after securing his £72 million transfer to Manchester United in August.
Hojlund made his debut for Man United in their 3-1 defeat against Arsenal last week, marking a significant leap in his career over the past 20 months.
Mouroux credits Hojlund's strong mental fortitude as a key factor in his development as a player. He told Mail Sport, "His two younger brothers — twins Emil and Oscar, both currently with FC Copenhagen — were more naturally gifted. Rasmus didn’t stand out. There were other players of his age who were just as talented."
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“He was playing for the age group above because he was physically so big, so he was more developed in that way," says Mouroux, a sporting director at Horsholm Usserod Idraetsklub, or HUI, an amateur club where Hojlund played until he was 12.
“But there was no single moment when we thought he was going to be a star.”
Hojlund left HUI for Brondby, before joining FC Copenhagen where he was retrained from a midfielder to a striker.
Hojlund made his senior debut at 17 but did not score a single league goal for Copenhagen. However, he did hit five in the 2021-22 UEFA Conference League.
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As a result, there was little consternation when he left for Sturm Graz in January 2022 for about £1.5m, after failing to make much of an impact.
What followed was an ascension nobody, not even those who know him best predicted. He scored 9 goals in 18 appearances, which was enough to get Atalanta into bringing in to their fold
“Signing for a team who’ve bought him to perform now, it’s surprising. Knowing him, it’s a type of pressure he will thrive under. His father set him up for that.”
Mouroux also believes Hojuland’s father played a big role in shaping him into becoming a top striker, as he would take it upon himself to coach them extra after training when everyone else had gone home
“Without dad Anders giving them all individual coaching after everyone else had gone home, along with their mum driving them all on, none of the brothers would’ve made it,” Mouroux said.
Hojland will be hoping to hit the ground running and live up to his price tag once the international break is over.
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