‘Another level’ – Rasmus Hojlund names the ‘most underrated player’ at Manchester United

Rasmus Hojlund has named the ‘most underrated player’ at Manchester United.

Few Old Trafford stars have been consistently reaching the required level this season, with United slipping into the bottom-half of the Premier League under Erik ten Hag and performing just as poorly under the Dutchman’s replacement Ruben Amorim.

Manchester United fans were, however, offered some relief from the misery on Thursday night as the Red Devils came from behind to beat Leicester City in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Joshua Zirkzee cancelled out Bobby De Cordova-Reid’s first-half opener 25 minutes from time but extra-time and potential penalties were looming before Harry Maguire scored a controversial injury-time winner.

The England defender appeared to be offside when Fernandes whipped in a free-kick but the assistant referee failed to raise his flag and the goal stood as VAR is not used at this stage of the FA Cup.

Hojlund played the full 90 but failed to end his goal drought and has now gone 14 games in all competitions without a goal.

The Denmark striker, who completed a £72m move from Atalanta in the summer of 2023, sat down with Sky Sports ahead of the FA Cup game and was asked a series of questions about the club and his teammates.

Asked who he views as the ‘most underrated player’ at Manchester United, Hojlund wasted no time before writing down Manuel Ugarte.

Uruguay international Ugarte has been a mainstay in the team this season following a £50m move from French champions Paris Saint-Germain last summer.

Explaining his selection, Hojlund said: ‘I think you’ve seen it a little bit more now with the new manager coming in, how well he’s been doing.

‘Obviously the results have not been good enough but he’s been a standout player lately. You see his quality, you see those workhorses in teams, they don’t get the appreciation.

‘For example, Amad [Diallo] has been doing amazing recently and he’s starting to get his recognition.

‘But Manu has also been very, very good. You’re starting to see now that he’s performing on another level.’

Ugarte played the majority of Manchester United’s FA Cup win over Leicester before coming off in the dying seconds.

Reacting to his team’s late and fortuitous victory, Amorim said: ‘We had to believe until the end but this game has nothing to do with the time of Fergie.

‘I think the performance, we have to do so much better with the ball, without the ball. We didn’t have any energy in the beginning, especially in the first-half.

‘Then in the second half we played a little bit better, with a little more speed, winning second balls. Then we managed to turn things around so it was a good result not a good performance.

‘The coach is the first responsible, when one team doesn’t perform, doesn’t improve, it is the coach but we are here to do things and to see the game, to study the game and try to improve for the next game.

‘I think it’s the small things, if you see the games sometimes it’s to control the ball, to have the ball, don’t give the ball away in the first pressure. It’s the small things, it’s the big things, it’s everything.

‘It’s this moment, it’s hard away but especially at home but we have to cope with that and we will try to do it next game.’

For more stories like this, check our sport page.

Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.