EPL TALK: Record-breaking Rasmus Højlund really looks like a proper Manchester United player

WHEN Rasmus Højlund swaggered over for his post-match interview, he was asked the inevitable question. Was that chest deflection for his second goal against Luton deliberate? His answer was definitive.

“One hundred per cent,” he said. “Just flick it in.”

In eight words, the kid from Copenhagen epitomised what it means to be a Manchester United footballer, what they expect at the Theatre of Dreams, which is, they expect just that. Theatre. They want shirts untucked, collars upturned and thumbs pointing to the name on the back of the jersey; that’s what it takes to play for United.

And the Red Devils lost that devilish streak in the last decade. Modern football has long fallen for this disease of earnest commentary and cold analysis as we succumbed to possession stats and VAR lines, but Manchester United fell further than most.

Somewhere between Sir Alex Ferguson ordering Old Trafford to back his anointed successor David Moyes and Erik ten Hag obsessing over public displays of discipline, United lost what made them United, the qualities that rebuilt the club after the Munich tragedy.

George Best’s baggy shirts and long hair, Cantona’s chipped finishes and half-turns to bask in the adulation, David Beckham’s goals from the halfway line and Cristiano Ronaldo’s everything all offered something more. They didn’t just build footballers at United. They built gods of mischief, always looking to annoy opponents with artistic flourishes. Fans loved them. Rivals loathed them, mostly because they didn’t have them. They were glorious times.

But United lost that anarchic streak, that sense of fun. What’s worse, the insouciance was replaced with one sombre eulogy after another, all to be read in Gary Neville’s nasally Mancunian accent ... This is Manchester United … This is not the way to play at Manchester United… These players are not Manchester United players.

But Højlund is a Manchester United player. If ten Hag gets nothing else right, if he leaves in May without a top-four finish and no trophies for this season, the manager still gifted the club a player worthy of United's historic swagger.

Højlund is a cheeky finisher, like Ronaldo, Cantona and Best. The chested finish against Luton Town was pure instinct and improvisation, the hallmarks of a classic Theatre of Dreams performer, as was his response to the accusation that the goal was unintentional. He meant it. Of course he did. And even if he hadn’t, he’d have lied anyway, just like Ronaldo, Cantona and Best. He’s 21, but his impudence is irrepressible. His confidence is extraordinary, too, considering the club’s stature and the mediocrity of others around him.

Youngest player to score in 6 straight matches

Højlund’s double against Luton made him the youngest player in English Premier League history to score in six successive matches, at 21 years and 14 days, seeing off Erling Haaland, Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy, to smash Joe Willock’s previous record of 21 years and 272 days old. And then he sauntered over for the post-match interview in his slippers, struggling to understand what all the fuss was about. He’s a striker. He scores goals for a living. What’s the big deal here? Once again, he echoed the sentiments of Ronaldo, Cantona and, yes, we’re seriously tiptoeing towards hyperbole now.

But such comparisons are there to underline how often United have essentially anaesthetised their audience with performances of such eye-gouging dullness. And the rehabilitation isn’t complete either. The half-time removals of both Harry Maguire and Casemiro were reminders of the work still to be done.

Højlund does offer genuine hope though. After taking 15 EPL games to score, he broke his duck on Boxing Day and hasn't stopped since. Even before then, retired strikers Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer saw the traits of an instinctive marksman: the runs in behind, gambling on spaces between defenders and – a key point – a head that never dropped. Who else could say that at Manchester United of late?

Certainly not Marcus Rashford or Bruno Fernandes or even Alejandro Garnacho, a trio of undoubted talents that have occasionally spluttered in the malfunctioning machine. But against Luton, they all provided excellent service for Højlund. The senior pros served the kid, a United routine that once worked rather well for van Nistelrooy.

Højlund should’ve left Luton with the match ball, but terrific goalkeeping denied him a hat-trick, but not the spotlight heading his way. He won’t mind. United’s true thespians never do. They crave it, thrive on it and the young Dane appears to be no exception.

Of course, at this juncture, the killjoys must interrupt to state the bleeding obvious. Lads, it’s Luton. Ross Barkley really should have pinched a point with a late header and defensive flaws remain. All of which are true, but these criticisms only resort to recent stereotypes. It’s always so funereal and serious when chronicling life at United.

Højlund offers a little respite from the doom loop. Last night, there was this cocky kid who scored two goals – his second was a proper cheeky effort - and then he strolled over for a chat with a couple of EPL legends and acted like he owned the place and then wandered off with a goal-scoring record. He didn’t look fazed. He looked like he belonged.

In recent years, Manchester United have worked tirelessly to replicate the spirit of the Class of '92 by championing the local kids coming through their academy. And yet, ironically, it’s Højlund who really looks like one of their own.

Neil Humphreys is an award-winning football writer and a best-selling author, who has covered the English Premier League since 2000 and has written 28 books.

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