Rasmus Hojlund: How the ‘new Haaland’ compares to the ‘real Haaland’ at 20

Tom Hancock

Updated: 27 Jul 2023 13:45 BST
3 min read

Rasmus Hojlund and Erling Haaland on a blue abstract background — © ProShots

Manchester United are closing in on Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund, and the prodigious Dane is already drawing comparisons with another Scandinavian goal machine: a certain Erling Haaland.

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The 20-year-old has been dubbed the ‘new Haaland’ – a bold claim indeed, and one which brings with it a mixture of excitement and expectation.

But just how accurate a label is it? FootballTransfers crunches the numbers to see how Hojlund stacks up against Manchester City’s main man when he was the same age.

MORE: Hojlund to Man Utd and five big transfers that could be completed this week

Hojlund vs Haaland: Goals in the top five leagues at 20

Hojlund and Haaland both signed for clubs in Europe’s top five leagues at the age of 19 – and both moved from clubs in the Austrian Bundesliga: Hojlund from Strum Graz to Atalanta last year; Haaland from Red Bull Salzburg to Borussia Dortmund in 2020.

But there’s a clear winner when it comes to goals in the top five leagues aged 20: Hojlund found the net nine times in Serie A last season; Haaland did so… 13 times in his first six months in the German Bundesliga, including a hat-trick within 23 minutes of coming off the bench for his Dortmund debut.

Haaland’s goalscoring exploits at such a young age are made all the more remarkable by the fact he played just 1,062 minutes up to the age of 20 – 770 fewer than Hojlund during the corresponding period.

MORE: How Man Utd will line up with Hojlund and Amrabat

Hojlund vs Haaland: Champions League goals at 20

Ok, this isn’t a fair contest as Hojlund has yet to play in the Champions League proper (although he did find the net for Sturm Graz in qualifying last term).

© ProShots - Rasmus Hojlund is a target for Man Utd

But it’s always worth highlighting Haaland’s incredible feats of scoring in club football’s premier competition: by the time he celebrated his 20th birthday in July 2020, the ‘Terminator’ had racked up 10 Champions League goals – kicking off with another hat-trick, this time on his debut in the competition for Salzburg.

Hojlund vs Haaland: International goals at 20

Both Hojlund and Haaland have prolific records for their respective countries, Denmark and Norway.

Hojlund has scored six goals in six caps, and Haaland 24 in 25 – but the ‘new Haaland’ comes out on top here, with the ‘real Haaland’ striking only three times for his country by the age of 20.