Delve into the background of blockbusters and you can easily find youth coaches desperate for the chance to retell the moment when, at the age of seven, they saw a now-famous superstar run past ten players before finding the top corner.
It’s often a story they’ve been telling for years, to anyone who will listen. For Christian Mouroux, one of the key figures in Rasmus Hojlund’s early career, his £73 million move to Manchester United evokes an inescapable sense of shock.
‘His two younger brothers – the twins Emil and Oscar, both now at FC Copenhagen – were more obvious talents. Rasmus was not a standout player,” says Mouroux. ‘There were other players his age who were just as good.
‘His talents that you see today came much later. I won’t lie, I’m very surprised by how much Rasmus paid.”
Rasmus Hojlund joined Manchester United for £73 million during the summer transfer window
Growing up, coaches expected Hojlund’s (right) younger twin brothers to be better than him
Mouroux is not alone. In January 2022, Hojlund was allowed to leave FC Copenhagen for around £1.5 million after failing to make much of an impact.
Less than two years later, one of the biggest clubs in the world sees the 20-year-old as their frontline striker for the time being.
Now that he has passed on Harry Kane, the company line at Old Trafford is that Hojlund will be able to slowly acclimatise to life in the Premier League. But four games into the season, with two defeats already under their belt and other attackers continuing to fail, the big money’s embryonic takeover will need to get off to a flying start. And then a little.
“He played for the above age group because he was so physically big, so he was more developed in that area,” says Mouroux, sporting director at Horsholm Usserod Idraetsklub, or HUI, an amateur club where Hojlund played until he was 12.
‘But there was never a moment when we thought he was going to be a star.
‘It’s surprising to now sign for a team that bought him to perform. Knowing him, it’s a form of pressure under which he will thrive. His father prepared him for that.’
Horsholm is a seemingly middle-class town just north of Copenhagen, quietly situated on the Øresund coast. It’s not known as a football hotbed, meaning there’s only one name on everyone’s lips at the local club when it comes to success stories.
Stories are plural, as there are three of them. They will all meet in the Champions League group stage when United take on FC Copenhagen.
“Without father Anders coaching them all individually after everyone else had gone home, and without their mother driving them all along, none of the brothers would have made it,” says Mouroux.
‘Anders was a carpenter by trade and had built a field in the basement for when the weather was bad. Sometimes he would train one son for an hour and then come back with another and then another. There was always a Hojlund on our pitches.
‘Rasmus still comes to train here when he is home. Brings his own cones and balls. No one has ever seen a dedication like his, but it’s in their blood.”
After leaving HUI at the age of 12 for Danish top team Brondby, with Mouroux joining him for a while, Hojlund broke into the FC Copenhagen first team after retraining from midfielder to striker.
He made his debut at the age of 17 and did not score a single league goal for Copenhagen, but did score five in the 2021/22 UEFA Conference League.
Hojlund impressed at Italian side Atlanta to attract some of Europe’s top clubs, including United
Your browser does not support iframes.
As a result, there was little consternation when he left for Sturm Graz last January. What followed is an ascension that no one, not even those who know him best – his own father admitted he was shocked by the way he ‘exploded’ in Austria – could have foreseen.
‘We were sure he was a diamond that needed to be polished. He had everything we were looking for in a striker,” said Sturm Graz boss Christian Ilzer.
“We had video chats with his family and the first face-to-face meeting was at our training camp. He surprised me in every way. His confidence and attitude for an 18-year-old was exceptional, and his height, speed, finishing ability and presence in front of goal were even better than expected.
‘It was as if he had been stopped before. I wish I could have worked with him longer.”
A few years ago, there weren’t many teams operating with a traditional number 9, while Pep Guardiola’s fluid ‘false nine’ approach was the choice of many clubs.
But the game and Guardiola are constantly evolving. Erling Haaland made sure of that. And so the ‘powerhouse’ that the growing Hojlund had become was back in vogue, at just the right time.
‘In one of his first interviews here he said that his playing style has some similarities to that of Erling Haaland. Both at our club and in the media it was laughed at or not taken seriously, because he was only 18 and hadn’t really shown anything yet,” says Ilzer.
‘But for me it showed how confident he was. After his first match, in which he scored twice, all journalists knew what he was talking about and saw that there were similarities in terms of size, strength and finishing ability.
“The field is a concert stage and he is a rock star who thrills the crowd. He naturally feels comfortable in the spotlight. That’s why it’s made for the biggest stages.”
The goals continued to flow in Austria, not at Haaland-like levels, but enough to convince Atalanta to snatch him from Graz’s clutches after just eight months at the club, for ten times the fee he came for.
Atalanta needn’t have worried as their wins eleven months later were just as remarkable.
Hojlund will be dependent rather than nurtured at Old Trafford due to the problems in United’s attack
And so the English adventure begins, but there is no time to enjoy the landscape.
When played through the middle, Marcus Rashford has looked a shadow of the hitman who plundered 30 goals in all competitions last season. Anthony Martial, eight years into his Old Trafford career, has scored twice on target in three games. Brazilian striker Antony remains without a goal or assist after four starts. And Jadon Sancho couldn’t be further from United manager Erik ten Hag’s thoughts at the moment.
When fit, given the mediocrity all around him, Hojlund will be more dependent on United than nurtured – something those who know him best insist he can handle.
Sturm Graz turned a boy into a man, Atalanta allowed the powerhouse to flourish, and now it’s United’s turn to polish their diamond and place it on that purple cushion for all to see.
“When City signed Haaland he had already scored an obscene number of goals,” says Mouroux.
‘He was a safe bet. Not Rasmus, but I’m sure United have assessed his potential.
‘As a sporting director, I understand why they took that opportunity. Since the explosion in Austria it has become much more powerful and faster. Now he has everything now. We can’t wait to see what he can become; he is an example to us all.”