Rasmus Hojlund bad, Joshua Zirkzee worse! Ruben Amorim’s top task with Man Utd laid bare amid worst goal crisis in 51 years

The good news for Amorim is that United are not struggling to create chances, demonstrated by the fact they had 11 shots on goal against Chelsea, three falling to Alejandro Garnacho. In their previous league game against West Ham, they had 18 and many of them clear-cut, such as Diogo Dalot missing an open goal and Garnacho hammering against the bar.

Their profligacy led to West Ham winning the game and Ten Hag losing his job. But it was not just in that game. United’s expected goals underperformance (-7.8) is the worst in the league while their shot conversion rate (6.4 percent) is the second worst in the league, only ahead of Crystal Palace. They also rank highest for big chances missed, with 25.

“The lack of goals is hard to believe, you look at the opportunities missing and you’re saying that’s why managers lose their jobs here,” said Roy Keane. “That’s why you’re down in the table, that’s why the goals record is what it is. It’s hit and miss but more likely you’re gonna miss.”

The former United captain also had a word of warning for Amorim. “He should have signed a longer contract, there’s a long way back for this team,” he added. “This is an average United team, all the stats back it up. So flat, from the manager’s point of view they’re way off it in terms of getting back into that top four and competing. They’re just average at everything. They’re not good at anything special.”

It’s lucky then that United have chosen Amorim, as he is the ideal man to help them address their shortcomings in attack. His Sporting side scored 96 goals last season, 19 more than nearest challengers Benfica, and they have been even more prolific this campaign, netting 35 times in their opening 10 matches. United fans watched on with glee as Sporting took down Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, becoming the first team in eight years to score four times against City in the Champions League, from only nine shots.

Sporting’s demolition of Pep Guardiola’s side was the latest striking exhibition from Viktor Gyokeres, who outshone Erling Haaland by bagging a hat-trick. The Swede has scored an unreal 12 times in his last six appearances, taking his tally to 23 for the season. It follows his excellent debut campaign, in which he scored 43 times in all competitions in a smooth transition from English to Portuguese football. Gyokeres was scouted by Brighton, one of the leaders in spotting young talent, when he was a teenager although his progress was slow, going out on loan to St Pauli in the Bundesliga 2 and Swansea City in the Championship with little success.

Things started to look up when he was at Coventry City, scoring 17 goals in his first full campaign before netting 21 times in 2022-23, finishing as the second top scorer in the Championship. His goal tally was impressive but not unusual for the level and Sporting did not face much competition when they signed him for £20m ($25m). Gyokeres now looks like one of the top strikers in Europe and his value has increased five-fold, with any club wanting to sign him next summer expected to pay in the region of £100 million ($129m). He is the leading scorer in Europe’s top 10 leagues and joint-top scorer in the Champions League alongside Harry Kane (who has scored three penalties).

Since playing for Sporting he has perfected the art of running in behind the defence and beating the goalkeeper. He got through the City defence early on Tuesday but bungled his shot. He showed his resilience by dusting himself down and racing through the backline again, bulldozing past debutant Jahmai Simpson-Pusey before slotting past Ederson.

His previous Champions League outing against Sturm Graz had witnessed an even better display of lightning quick attacking, bringing the ball down the left wing and dragging it across the other side of the pitch before finishing. “We’ve done amazing things together, we will miss him a lot,” is what Gyokeres said of Amorim.

Berbatov is among those who would like to see him link up with Amorim at United. “This guy, Viktor Gyokeres. He’s scoring goals for fun right now. So I think there’s a special connection with the coach. So maybe, maybe, we’re probably going to see him in a United shirt,” he said. Amorim resisted discussions about Gyokeres’ future, although he hinted he will leave at the end of the season. Despite Berbatov’s wishes, United are unlikely to make a push for Gyokeres, especially at £100m. After all, they have their own big-money Scandinavian they need to get firing first.

Rasmus Hojlund is of a similar profile to Gyokeres and last year demonstrated his knack for running behind defences and scoring in his Old Trafford Champions League debut against Galatasaray. He has been too inconsistent since then. Four injuries have not helped his cause, although when he has been available he has often been starved of service from his team-mates. There is also a sense that United often do not make the use of his qualities, asking him to hold the ball up rather than offer him opportunities to latch onto it with the pitch in front of him.

Hojlund alluded to this after getting the winner against Brentford last month, saying: “I was trying not to fight too much with the defenders, I was trying to focus on getting the ball to my feet.” But he struggled a lot at West Ham and against Chelsea, where he was tasked with playing like an old fashioned centre-forward.

Amorim’s use of Gyokeres down the flanks, which signalled a change in style from the possession football of the previous seasons, offers hope that Hojlund will be able to thrive under the Portuguese. And he is excited about playing for him.

“I am really looking forward to this,” Hojlund told Danish magazine Tipsbladet. “He has great ideas. I’ve seen how they play. I spoke with [Denmark and Sporting midfielder] Morten Hjulmand about it, and he is also very pleased with the coach, so I am eager for him to start. It will be exciting to see how he implements his ideas, and I am looking forward to working with a young, ambitious coach.”

If there is hope that Hojlund can reach his true potential under the new boss, there is more scepticism about United’s other centre-forward, Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch striker, who was described as a ‘No.9 and a half’ due to his propensity to drop deep and facilitate play for others, has not scored for United since netting on his debut and his lack of pace is becoming increasingly concerning.

He was introduced late against Chelsea for Hojlund and within a minute of coming on was given the perfect through ball by Bruno Fernandes. But despite having an advantage over Wesley Fofana, he lost the race with the Chelsea defender. He then saw his pass to Amad Diallo intercepted, prompting howls of frustration from the United fans.

It was by no means an isolated incident and Zirkzee’s clumsy cameos are becoming a common talking point among fans online and at Old Trafford. A group of long-serving Reds were incredulous with his performance as they talked on their way home. Discussion online was far more brutal, with the striker compared to an overweight amateur player and a sea lion.

Pundits have also talked about him in disparaging terms, such as former England manager Fabio Capello. “Go watch Zirkzee play in the Premier League and tell me if he seems like the same player we admired in Bologna,” he said in La Gazzetta dello Sport. “In Italy he did what he wanted, in England he doesn’t even have time to think about the play before the ball is stolen from him.”

United’s interim boss Ruud van Nistelrooy pleaded for more patience with Zirkzee last week. “Josh came in and he’s a young player with a lot of potential,” he said. “Another one with a lot of talent, he’s a good age and has a lot of potential to develop. We have to look after him, give him time because he will get better and will be a very good player.”

Zirkzee and Hojlund had similar statistics when they were in Italy, the Dutchman registering 11 goals and four assists last season in Serie A, compared to the Dane’s nine goals and two assists. Their statistics in Italy underline the fact they are both players with potential rather than the finished product, despite the fact they cost a combined £108.5m ($140m).

Buying potential over guaranteed talent is the norm for top clubs and United have also failed to get the best out of players who looked certain to succeed such as Jadon Sancho, Mason Mount, Casemiro, Raphael Varane and Cristiano Ronaldo. Amorim’s record in improving players was a big factor in United choosing him as Ten Hag’s successor, and Gyokeres is his latest hit after getting a tune out of the likes of Nuno Menes, Manuel Ugarte, Matheus Nunes, Joao Palhinha, Pedro Porro, Paulinho, Issahaku Fatawuv and Matheus Fernandes, generating £300m ($380m) for his club .

United do not need such a high windfall from transfers, although it would still be welcome. Instead of turning players into cash cows, his task now is to get players the club have already invested heavily in to show their value. It begins with Hojlund and Zirkzee. If Amorim can get them scoring at a similar rate to Gyokeres then he will be well on his way to making United great again.