Alan Shearer believes Rasmus Hojlund is a 'damaged player' after the striker struggled again in Manchester United's 1-0 loss at home to Wolves on Sunday.

Hojlund, 22, arrived for £73m from Atalanta in 2023 and scored 10 league goals in his maiden season at Old Trafford but the goals have dried up this term.

He has found the net just three times in the Premier League, with only one of those goals coming in 2025, and he was hauled off after 70 minutes on Sunday following another ineffective display that saw him squander multiple chances.

Premier League legend Shearer watched his performance closely, and delivered a damning verdict on Match of the Day 2 as he revealed the mistakes that Hojlund is consistently making.

'I'm looking at a damaged player in Hojlund,' Shearer said. 'I think he wasn't ready and isn't ready to lead the line at a club like Manchester United. 

'Three Premier League goals, and at the minute I'm seeing a player that doesn't really want to get in there. 

'He's perhaps a second too early or a second too late, and his timing is all wrong. I think there's no doubt he's (suffering from) a crisis in confidence.'

Despite his shortcomings this season, Hojlund has retained his place as United's first-choice striker for the majority of the campaign under Ruben Amorim ahead of Joshua Zirkzee and teenage wonderkid Chido Obi-Martin.

Shearer expressed some sympathy for Hojlund as he continues to fall short of expectations after United spent big on him two years ago, but hinted that United will have to dip into the transfer market for a more established No 9 this summer to ease the burden on the Danish forward.

'He's been put into a really difficult situation at a club where unless you're exceptional, to lead the line for the football club you have to be really talented,' Shearer added.

'He's not at the stage of his career where he should be leading the line. I'm not saying there's not a good player in there, I think there is a good player in there. 

'But the pressure that's on him in terms of doing what he can't do and also the price-tag, he's not ready to lead the line as yet.'

United have now lost 15 league games this season, with Pablo Sarabia's free-kick sealing all three points for Wolves shortly after Hojlund was replaced.

Amorim's men sit 14th in the table, just two points above 17th-placed West Ham, and are the sixth-lowest scorers in the division.