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Manchester United legend Gary Neville has identified Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana as the two “unknowns” that are making him worried as Erik ten Hag’s men prepare to kickstart their campaign against Wolves on August 14.
Hojlund and Onana represent two of United’s latest arrivals from Atalanta and Inter Milan respectively.
After weeks of haggling and talks between the Red Devils and the two Serie A clubs, Ten Hag finally got his main targets for the striker and goalkeeper positions.
Onana has already shown signs of his brilliance and what supporters can expect from him going forward.
It’s an entirely different case with Hojlund who is yet to kick a football for United. After his presentation in front of the Old Trafford faithful on Saturday, it was later revealed that the goalscorer will have to wait to make his debut.
A small injury sustained during his time with Atalanta was set to keep the 20-year-old sidelined for a few weeks.
The Peoples Person covered a report which revealed that the setback is worse than initially feared as MRI scans disclosed a back issue brought about by excessive workload at such a young age.
Neville who was speaking on The Overlap, cautioned that Hojlund and Onana are ones to watch out for as their impacts could directly translate to how United’s campaign unfolds.
“The reason I’m a little bit nervous about United’s season is that you’ve got these two unknowns at either end of the pitch that really have to hit it off for Manchester United to be better than last season.
“I’ve said it before I think its the toughest position in Premier League football, Manchester United’s goalkeeper. You come under more scrutiny than any other player in English football if you’re United goalkeeper. I wish him all the best because he’s going to need that personality, that character because people will get onto him.”
Neville added, “Every media organisation, every pundit, every fan from every other club, if he does make a mistake we know what’s going to happen on every single occasion. And I think the lad at the other end as well, Hojlund, centre-forward for Manchester United. I think they’re the two position that will get put under most scrutiny and they’re the two that are really going to have to settle in.”
The former defender laid bare his hope that his former club are secretly hatching a plan to lure Harry Kane to the Theatre of Dreams.
The 48-year-old TV pundit is optimistic that both United and Kane are being “clever” about how a potential transfer could play out.
Neville explained that the 20-time English champions could be lying in wait for Bayern Munich to agree a fee with Tottenham, only to come out of nowhere with an equally competitive bid that would then allow Kane to choose United.
He pointed out that Kane would instantly elevate United to the realms of Manchester City and Arsenal in terms of performance and fighting for silverware.
On top of this, the England captain would relieve the goalscoring pressure on Hojlund, while allowing the Dane to find his feet and develop further.
