A surprising number has come to light that might help explain why Rasmus Hojlund, whom Manchester United paid £72 million for this summer, is having trouble scoring goals at Old Trafford.

After Cristiano Ronaldo left the club last season, the Red Devils signed Hojlund. He scored five goals in the group stage of the Champions League, even though United lost and had to exit the competition.

But he hasn’t scored yet in the Premier League, which makes people worry that he is having a hard time adjusting to life in England.

But data show that the fact that he hasn’t been used much in his first few months at the club should be a bigger worry.

Stats show that Hojlund is the least likely of the big strikers to receive passes from his teammates this season. Holland has played in 12 Premier League games and has been passed to less than 150 times.

On Opta’s table, the only other striker with less than 150 moves is Anthony Martial, who plays for United with Hojlund. The French player has scored just one league goal so far in 2023–24.

Son Heung-min of Tottenham, on the other hand, has over 400 passes, which is almost three times as many as Hojlund. This season, the South Korean star has scored 10 goals for Ange Postecoglou’s free-flowing team.

Under Erik ten Hag, things have not been easy at Old Trafford lately. In their 16 games so far, United have only scored 18 goals.

These 14 teams have scored fewer goals than United. However, 17th-placed Everton have scored more goals than United.

Some people have said that Hojlund is to blame for the lack of goals, but the numbers show that he needs more help from the people around him.

Hojlund looked angry when full-back Diogo Dalot chose to shoot from a close range instead of passing the ball back to him during United’s 3-0 loss to Bournemouth last weekend.

United was only down 1-0 at the time of the event, but it turned out to be a turning point in the game because Dalot could only find the side-netting. United then gave up two more goals, ending in a humiliating home loss.

After a bad start to the season in which they lost seven of their first sixteen league games, United is now in sixth place.

The team could have done even worse. Midfielders Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes have scored late goals to save wins after putting on lackluster efforts.

But while these players have had times of inspiration, it’s become a problem that they can’t come up with anything for Hojlund.

Also, Fernandes isn’t allowed to play when United goes to Anfield on Sunday, so Hojlund won’t be able to use him as a service player.