Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund is one of 3 nominees for the Danish Footballer of the Year award after an “extraordinary” year for the Premier League newcomer.
Indeed, it would have been a great blast if Atalanta’s £63m signing wasn’t part of the selected trio.
Alongside Crystal Palace’s Joachim Andersen and Chelsea Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen, Rasmus Hojlund’s rivals for the award, the Manchester United striker has been in exceptional form in Denmark red since breaking into the starting XI.
Only Harry Kane, Romelu Lukaku, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe have more than Hojlund’s seven in European Championship qualifying. Some company.
Those seven goals, meanwhile, came in six starts, with Hojlund breaking into the foreign level with a hat-trick against Scandinavian neighbors Finland on his full debut in Denmark.
“In Denmark we have countless perfect footballers. But in the 2023 football year, 3 of them stand out in particular,” reads a post on the Danish players’ association’s website. Holjund was nominated through his foreign peers for the final -gong of the year.
“According to the players, who are true experts, Joachim Andersen, Rasmus Hojlund and Andreas Christensen have been extraordinary. And that’s why all three players from the national team have been nominated for the 2023 Footballer of the Year award.
“Rasmus Hojlund, 20, made his breakthrough abroad in 2023. These performances (for Atalanta) helped prepare the move to favorite club Manchester United and the Premier League.
“In a United shirt, he is currently the top smart goalscorer in the Champions League. As it is in the national team. The hat-trick against Finland on March 23 should be etched in the memory of Denmark’s biggest football fans.
If Hojlund fights Christensen and Andersen, he will sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Daniel Agger, Kasper Schmeichel and Manchester United playmaker Christian Eriksen in the Danish history books.
Hojlund and Eriksen are absent from Denmark’s current squad and have been forced to withdraw from November internationals due to injury.