Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund has been strongly linked with a move to this summer and his manager, Gian Piero Gasperini, feels that it has cost him his form.
The 20-year-old is in his first season in Serie A after a move from Sturm Graz last summer and was looking great earlier in the campaign, scoring in four consecutive games in January.
The hype surrounding the young forward grew in March when he scored five goals in two games for Denmark in European Championship qualifiers, but things then tailed off a bit on his return to Italy.
After those international goals, Hojlund went six Serie A games without scoring and was even left on the bench for a win over Spezia earlier this month.
However, he was in the starting line-up on Saturday and scored as Atalanta beat Verona 3-1 to boost their chances of European qualification.
Gasperini says that speculation over his future did not help him to maintain his form, while he also suffered an injury which hampered him.
‘The qualities are all there, at the beginning we had to get to know him but he immediately stood out for his great will to break through,’ Gasperini said via .
‘He did very well after the first stop [part of the season], then he was called up to the national team and too many rumours distracted him, then there was the [abductor] injury.’
Gasperini was speaking after the win over Verona and added: ‘Today’s goal demonstrates his power, if he knows how to improve he can take away great satisfaction.
‘You have to know how to accept his moments, he will mature in all aspects.’
The Dane has admitted recently that it would be a tough move to turn down as he is a Red Devils fan.
‘Now that you ask, I will not hide the fact that I am a huge Manchester United fan,’ he said.
‘So personally, it would be one of the biggest things for me [to sign for United], but of course that doesn’t mean that I would turn down other big clubs if the offers come at some point.’
, .
, and .
