Rasmus Højlund

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Rasmus Højlund
Højlund in 2023
Personal information
Full name Rasmus Winther Højlund[1]
Date of birth (2003-02-04) 4 February 2003 (age 22)[2]
Place of birth Copenhagen, Denmark
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[3]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 Manchester United
Number 9
Youth career
Hørsholm-Usserød
Brøndby
–2020 Copenhagen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020–2022 Copenhagen 19 (0)
2022 Sturm Graz 18 (9)
2022–2023 Atalanta 32 (9)
2023– Manchester United 56 (13)
International career‡
2018–2019 Denmark U16 10 (1)
2019 Denmark U17 5 (1)
2021–2022 Denmark U19 9 (1)
2022 Denmark U21 3 (0)
2022– Denmark 24 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 21:14, 6 April 2025 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:03, 23 March 2025 (UTC)

Rasmus Winther Højlund (Danish pronunciation: [ˈʁɑsmus ˈhʌjˌlɔnˀ];[4] born 4 February 2003) is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the Denmark national team.

Højlund graduated from Copenhagen's youth academy, making his first-team debut for the club aged 17 in October 2020. After scoring five goals in 32 appearances for Copenhagen, he joined Austrian club Sturm Graz in January 2022. Later that year, he was signed by Atalanta for €17 million, before moving to Manchester United in 2023 for an initial fee of £64 million.

Højlund played youth international football for Denmark from under-16 to under-21 level. He made his senior international debut in September 2022.

Club career

Early career

Højlund was born in Copenhagen[5] and grew up in Hørsholm, Capital Region.[6] He played youth football for HUI and Brøndby, before joining Copenhagen's youth system.[7]

He made his professional debut for F.C. Copenhagen at the age of 17 on 25 October 2020.[8] In December 2020, he extended his contract with FCK until December 31, 2023. After the 2021 summer break, he was promoted to the first team squad.

During the 2021–22 season, he made his debut in European competitions, contributing five goals in the UEFA Europa Conference League across qualification rounds and the tournament proper.[9]

He scored his first two goals for FCK on July 29, 2021, when he was substituted at half-time in a match against FC Tarpedo-BelAZ Zhodino in the Conference League.

Sturm Graz

In January 2022, Højlund joined Austrian Bundesliga club Sturm Graz for a reported fee of €1.8 million.[10] He scored 12 goals in 21 games across all competitions during the remainder of the 2021–22 season and the start of the 2022–23 season.[9]

Atalanta

On 27 August 2022, Højlund signed with Serie A club Atalanta in a deal worth a reported €17 million.[9][10] He scored his first goal for Atalanta on 5 September in a 2–0 away win over Monza.[11] Initially confined to a substitute role at the beginning of the season, he carved out a place for himself in the squad due to the poor form and injuries of usual starter, Duván Zapata. In January 2023, he went on to deliver several convincing performances, notably scoring four goals in four consecutive games.[12][13]

Manchester United

On 29 July, Premier League side Manchester United agreed a deal to sign Højlund from Atalanta for an initial £64 million fee plus £8 million in performance related add-ons, with the player agreeing a five-year deal with the option of an extra year.[14] He was then announced officially as a United player on 5 August 2023, subject to international clearance.[15]

2023–24: Debut season and adaptation

Højlund made his debut on 3 September, replacing Anthony Martial in the 67th minute of a Premier League match against Arsenal, which ended in a 3–1 defeat.[16] On 20 September, Højlund scored his first goal for the club in a 4–3 away defeat against Bayern Munich in the opening match of the 2023–24 Champions League.[17] In United's second Champions League fixture against Galatasaray at Old Trafford, he scored twice as United lost 3–2, and was named man of the match despite the defeat.[18] On 8 November, Højlund scored twice on his return to Parken in a 4–3 defeat to his former club Copenhagen.[19] He became the youngest player to score twice in an away Champions League match for Manchester United.[20] On 26 December, Højlund scored his first Premier League goal, the winner in a 3–2 home victory over Aston Villa. The goal came in his fifteenth appearance for the club, as United fought from 2–0 down to win.[21][22]

On 4 February 2024, his 21st birthday, Højlund scored the opener in Manchester United's 3–0 victory over West Ham United.[23] A week later on 11 February, Højlund opened the scoring again, this time against Aston Villa in a 2–1 away victory, becoming the second youngest player to ever score in five successive Premier League appearances, behind only Nicolas Anelka.[24] On 18 February, he scored both of United's goals in a 2–1 victory over Luton Town, the first of which came just 37 seconds into the match. This made him the youngest player to score in six consecutive Premier League games ahead of Joe Willock's previous record.[25] After his performances in February, Højlund won the Premier League Player of the Month, becoming the first Danish player in Premier League history to win the award.[26] On 21 April, in the FA Cup semi-final against Coventry City, Højlund scored the winning kick of the penalty shootout to send Manchester United to the 2024 FA Cup final after a 3–3 draw after extra time in a match that notably saw United throw away a 3–0 lead.[27] In the final on 25 May, Højlund won his first trophy with the club as he featured as a late substitute for Marcus Rashford, helping secure a 2–1 victory over local rivals Manchester City.[28]

After scoring in the final two fixtures against Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion, Højlund ended his first season at Manchester United with ten Premier League goals. He also scored five goals from six Champions League appearances as well as one goal in the FA Cup.[29]

2024–25

Ahead of the 2024–25 season in which he wore number 11, Højlund was assigned the squad number 9, taking the shirt from the recently departed Anthony Martial.[30] On 3 October 2024, he scored his first goal of the season in a 3–3 draw with FC Porto in the UEFA Europa League.[31] On 19 October, Højlund scored his first league goal of the season in a 2–1 home victory against Brentford, ending Manchester United's winless run of five games in the process.[32]

On 12 December 2024, Højlund scored a brace off the bench to give United a 2–1 comeback victory away to Victoria Plzen. This made him one of three United players to have scored nine goals in Europe at 21 years of age or below, the others being Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney.[33]

During the season, Højlund came under fire from pundits and fans for his lacklustre performances; he experienced a streak of 16 Premier League matches without scoring, with his last league goal coming on 7 December 2024 in a 2–3 home defeat to Nottingham Forest. Former United player Rio Ferdinand said he "always to fight and make contact".[34]

On 16 March 2025, Højlund ended his 21-game goalless streak, netting the opening goal in a 3-0 win away over Leicester City. [35]

International career

In September 2022, Højlund played his first international matches for Denmark against Croatia and France during the UEFA Nations League,[36] debuting against the former opponent on 1 September.[37] On 23 March 2023, he made his first international start, scoring a hat-trick in a 3–1 victory against Finland during the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying, his first goals for his country.[38] He ended the qualification phase as Denmark's top-scorer with seven goals.[39] Højlund was selected for Denmark's UEFA Euro 2024 squad, debuting in their opening fixture against Slovenia.[40]

Personal life

His younger twin brothers, Emil and Oscar, are both footballers with Emil currently playing for 2. Bundesliga side Schalke 04 and Oscar for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.[41]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 6 April 2025[3]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Copenhagen 2020–21 Danish Superliga 4 0 1 0 — 0 0 5 0
2021–22 Danish Superliga 15 0 1 0 — 11[c] 5 27 5
Total 19 0 2 0 — 11 5 32 5
Sturm Graz 2021–22 Austrian Bundesliga 13 6 0 0 — 0 0 13 6
2022–23 Austrian Bundesliga 5 3 1 2 — 2[d] 1 8 6
Total 18 9 1 2 — 2 1 21 12
Atalanta 2022–23 Serie A 32 9 2 1 — — 34 10
Manchester United 2023–24 Premier League 30 10 5 1 2 0 6[d] 5 43 16
2024–25 Premier League 26 3 3 0 2 0 10[e] 5 41 8
Total 56 13 8 1 4 0 16 10 84 24
Career total 125 31 13 4 4 0 29 16 171 51
  1. ^ Includes Danish Cup, Austrian Cup, Coppa Italia, FA Cup
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

As of match played 23 March 2025[42]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Denmark 2022 2 0
2023 8 7
2024 12 0
2025 2 1
Total 24 8
Denmark score listed first, score column indicates score after each Højlund goal.[42]
List of international goals scored by Rasmus Højlund
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 23 March 2023 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark 3  Finland 1–0 3–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [43]
2 2–1
3 3–1
4 26 March 2023 Astana Arena, Astana, Kazakhstan 4  Kazakhstan 1–0 2–3 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [44]
5 2–0
6 19 June 2023 Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia 6  Slovenia 1–1 1–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying [45]
7 17 October 2023 San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino 10  San Marino 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying
8 20 March 2025 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark 23  Portugal 1–0 1–0 2024–25 UEFA Nations League A

Honours

Copenhagen

Manchester United

Individual

References

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