Man Utd need to upgrade on 4/10 star who was Ten Hag’s fifth-choice target

14th in the Premier League table. Four defeats from their last five top-flight outings. The Ruben Amorim ‘honeymoon’ period is well and truly over.

Not that the Portuguese was ever afforded a smooth start to begin with, with the 2-1 victory over a hapless Manchester City side standing out as the statement result in an otherwise grim start to life in the Old Trafford dugout.

Since that Amad Diallo-inspired display at the Etihad, the Red Devils have now lost three on the bounce in all competitions, shipping nine goals in the process and failing to even get on the scoresheet in their last two festive outings.

Up against a resurgent Wolverhampton Wanderers side on Thursday evening – led by new boss Vitor Pereira – Amorim’s men simply wilted, while enduring further calamity in the form of Bruno Fernandes’ red card and Matheus Cunha’s effort direct from a corner.

With each passing week, this side appear to reach new depths, leaving that man Amorim scrambling with the January transfer window looming.

The key Man Utd issues vs Wolves

In what was a largely dull and drab contest, it’s fair to say that the visiting defence were actually untroubled for much of the encounter, with it taking a crazy Cunha curler to catch out a feeble Andre Onana.

Indeed, the Old Gold only created one ‘big chance’, while it was actually the away side who produced more shots on goal (11 vs 7), as per Sofascore, with it having been another day in which Amorim was left to rue key individual errors.

There was no greater mistake than from his captain and compatriot, with Fernandes needlessly picking up a third red card of the season just minutes after the restart.

Not that United were clicking into gear prior to that 47th minute dismissal, yet such an act only served to heap the pressure on his teammates, with it having been no surprise when the Red Devils did eventually cave in.

Meanwhile, it proved another grim day for young Kobbie Mainoo who was rightly withdrawn on the hour mark, with the 19-year-old looking so at odds up against the ferocious Cunha and Wolves’ midfield terriers. Diogo Dalot, too, remains distinctly uncomfortable on that left flank, having lost the ball 19 times and failed to register a single successful cross.

Ahead of that pairing, the 2-0 defeat also showed young Rasmus Hojlund at his worst, with such a limp showing only heightening the calls for a significant upgrade to be acquired in 2025.

Man Utd’s need for a centre-forward upgrade

For so long, the previous regime – spearheaded by Ed Woodward – looked to bolster the attack with short-term, veteran acquisitions of high-profile status, resulting in brief stints for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Edinson Cavani, Odion Ighalo and, who can forget, Wout Weghorst.

Thankfully, the club have moved away from that short-term model, although it could be argued that they have gone too far the other way, having recruited a 23-year-old Joshua Zirkzee and a 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund across the last two summers.

The signing of the former Atalanta man, in particular, is one that could be looked back on as a real defining moment in the Erik ten Hag tenure. After a promising first season that ended in Carabao Cup glory and a third-place league finish, United needed to kick on.

The talk of the town was that Harry Kane was the Dutchman’s key target, yet amid a reluctance to do business with a certain Daniel Levy, among other factors, it was Hojlund who arrived in Manchester instead.

Costing a reported £64m fee, rising to £72m, the young Dane was reportedly only Ten Hag’s fifth choice in that position, behind Kane, Ivan Toney, Dusan Vlahovic and Victor Osimhen.

Rather than signing a proven goalscorer, United plumped for a forward who had netted just nine league goals in Serie A in 2022/23. The rest has perhaps been inevitable.

Still only 21 years old, Hojlund has shown signs of life after finishing last term as the club’s top scorer, yet a return of just two league goals in 2024/25 thus far simply isn’t good enough. Indeed, of his 23 goals for the club in 64 outings, just 12 have come in England’s top flight.

As was shown at Molineux, the £64m man’s lack of service is a real issue – as he was restricted to just 14 touches and made only five passes in total – with Amad notably failing to slide him in at one stage in the first-half.

That said – as has been the case all season – the one-time Copenhagen starlet has the tendency to be bullied, having won just three of his 12 duels on Thursday, before being withdrawn late on. He’s won just 33% of his total duels in 2024/25 to date, as per Sofascore.

As Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst noted in his post-match player ratings, the 4/10 marksman produced ‘another boy-against-men performance’, having been ‘so easily bullied he occasionally dropped deep to avoid duels’.

Weak in the duel and failing to fire in front of goal, the promising talent is simply not the answer – not right now at least.

With January looming, Amorim must beg and plead for a new recruit to arrive through the door, having been aided in Sporting by the prolific talents of Viktor Gyokeres, who scored 66 goals in just 68 games under his watch.

A powerful, mobile striker, Hojlund has shown attributes akin to that of Gyokeres, yet the burden of being United’s main man in attack appears to rest too heavy.

An upgrade is certainly needed, if the Red Devils – and INEOS – are serious about kicking on in 2025 and beyond.