Man Utd "phenomenon" sold by Solskjr is now outscoring Hojlund & Zirkzee

There is no escaping it: Manchester United have kicked off their Premier League campaign in poor fashion this season.

Erik ten Hag’s men started brightly enough with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Fulham, but a defeat away to Brighton & Hove Albion and, worse yet, a hammering at home to Liverpool on Sunday has already put the club under immense pressure.

That said, while the performances on the pitch have left much to be desired, the club’s business off it has been impressive, with the likes of Manuel Ugarte, Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, and Joshua Zirkzee all giving the fans something to be happy about.

In fact, with Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund in the squad, the Red Devils have one of the most exciting young strike forces in football, although they are being outscored by a former United forward who was sold by Ole Gunnar Solskjær.

Zirkzee and Hojlund’s form

So, let’s start with Hojlund, who’s coming into his second season at the club. While he had a tough start to life at the Theatre of Dreams, it would be fair to say that, on the whole, his debut campaign for the club was a relatively successful one on a personal level.

For example, in his 43 appearances for the club, the Danish international found the back of the net on 16 occasions and provided two assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 2.38 games, and while he’s out injured at the moment, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him kick on again this year.

Likewise, Zirkzee enjoyed a relatively fruitful year with Italian side Bologna last season, although he wasn’t quite as prolific as his new teammate.

In his 37 appearances for the Rossoblu, the Dutchman scored 12 goals and provided seven assists, and while he scored fewer goals than the former Atalanta ace, thanks to his assist tally, he maintained a slightly better average of a goal involvement every 1.94 games.

However, while both forwards were productive last season, neither one was as clinical as a former United striker who was sold in 2019.

Romelu Lukaku’s recent form

Yes, the goalscorer in question is the much-maligned Romelu Lukaku, who, despite his reputation among fans in England, enjoyed a stellar campaign in Italy last season.

However, the Belgian powerhouse has had quite a journey since Solskjær sanctioned his £73m sale to Inter Milan over five years ago.

Since then, he’s fired Inter to a league title, moved to Chelsea for £98m, moved back to the San Siro on loan after struggling in West London and giving that interview, and then moved to AS Roma last season following a botched transfer to Juventus which enraged the Nerazzurri faithful.

However, this season, he has finally found a new permanent home at Napoli after completing a £30m move last month. While he’s already opened his account in just his first appearance for the Partenopei, we are here to talk about his exploits last season, which earned him a move to Naples in the first place.

In his 47 appearances for Roma, the “absolute phenomenon,” as Sky Sports presenter Dougie Critchley dubbed him, scored 21 goals and provided four assists. This means he averaged a goal involvement every 1.88 games and comfortably outscored both Hojlund and Zirkzee.

That said, it’s clear that Lukaku is back to near his best, and while his goals would be much appreciated by Ten Hag and Co, United got a considerable fee for him back in 2019, so ultimately, his departure was probably for the best.