It only took 15 appearances. Or some 1,027 minutes of football. Or the 114 days since his debut. Or 19 shots. Whichever way it is assessed, it was a long time: given the price tag, the expectation, the glimpses of talent, the club he has joined, their plight. Rasmus Hojlund has a Premier League goal for Manchester United. Which, when they paid £72m for him, was expected to arrive quite some time before Boxing Day.
When it came, a boyhood United fan turned youthful United centre-forward pronounced: “I’m the happiest man alive right now. It’s been a while.” Given the depths United have plumbed in the meantime, it may be an exaggeration to say it was worth the wait. And yet, when his goal finally came, it was at an opportune moment: to complete a comeback against a high-flying Aston Villa team, when a new era at Old Trafford required a springboard, when the manager who signed him, Erik ten Hag, had a greater need of some validation in front of a new force who could determine his future, in Ineos director of sport Sir Dave Brailsford.
