Hojlund is level with Serie A great as ‘strongest’ striker in Italy – Pazzini | OneFootball

Former Serie A striker Giampaolo Pazzini has described Rasmus Hojlund as the “strongest” striker in Italy right now, alongside the league’s top scorer.

Hojlund left an underwhelming spell at Manchester United for a loan to Napoli this term. If certain conditions are met, Hojlund will be signed permanently by the Serie A club in the summer.

Last season for United, Hojlund scored just four goals in the Premier League, with slightly better returns of six in the Europa League.

From just 11 Serie A games this term, he has reached four goals – with two assists – and also has two Champions League goals to his name.

Hojlund seems a better fit in Italy than he was in England, and according to Pazzini, he’s one of the very best strikers in the Serie A.

Pazzini told Sportsmediaset: “At the moment, Hojlund, under [Antonio] Conte, is the strongest striker in Serie A alongside Lautaro [Martinez]. Since he arrived, he has undergone an incredible transformation.

“He has always been a good player, but with great instinct, great power, he was a wild horse. Conte took him, educated him and raised him.

“Now he’s a fantastic striker because he plays for the team, he doesn’t make a single mistake, he never gets anticipated, he plays short, he plays long, he’s vicious in front of goal.

“Now he’s decisive throughout the match and you also find him in the defensive phase.”

Inter Milan striker Martinez is currently the top scorer in Serie A with nine goals, alongside three assists, and Christian Pulisic is the only other player who’s scored more goals than Hojlund this term.

As such, it’s high praise that Hojlund is seen as level with Martinez, who has not failed to surpass 10 Serie A goals in any of the last six seasons, and has 124 goals in the league over his career.

Conte is clearly happy with the progress of the Manchester United loanee, as he said recently: “Hojlund is a player who, first of all, is very young, but above all, has a lot of room for improvement.

“He’s becoming a dominant player in that position. He’s very connected to the team. In my style of football, everyone knows that strikers have a very important and unique role.”

Should the conditions be met for Hojlund to sign permanently at Napoli, they’ll part with €44million (£38.3m) for him. Given he’s currently one of the league’s top scorers and has helped his side to within two points of top spot in Serie A, he seems worth that fee.