Rasmus Hojlund swiftly gained the approval of Manchester United colleague Casemiro following his club debut against Arsenal on Sunday.
The Denmark international joined United in a £72 million deal from Atalanta this summer, but a back injury has delayed his debut.
His moment came at the Emirates, when he came on after 67 minutes to replace Anthony Martial, and he gave a good account of himself, with his manager Erik ten Hag insisting he should have been awarded a penalty.
Shortly after his debut, Casemiro was spotted encouraging Hojlund by grabbing his shirt, which delighted United fans on social media.
Explaining the incident, the new United star revealed his teammate told him he was ‘pleasantly surprised’ with his efforts against the Gunners.
‘He just says something in Spanish: “vamos” or something like that,’ Hojlund told his national press, with the Denmark squad ahead of San Marino and Finland.
‘He was happy that I gave the team perhaps a slightly different dynamic than what you get from Martial.
‘He’s maybe a little more technically strong and looks down the gaps where I like to take the fights. After all, he hasn’t seen me play before, so he told me he was pleasantly surprised to see me play.’
On Sunday, Hojlund instantly engaged Arsenal defenders in physical combat, displaying early signs of his intense focus and strength.
The 20-year-old worked with Casemiro to set up Alejandro Garnacho for an oncoming counterattack, and he was also involved in the goal that was disallowed for offside.
Declan Rice and Gabriel Jesus scored in stoppage time to give United a 3-1 loss, although Gary Neville, a former United player, was inspired by Hojlund’s quick effect.
‘Manchester United haven’t had a striker that they can hit. That’s the problem,’ Neville told Sky Sports. ‘Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t a classic targetman, [Anthony] Martial’s certainly not, [Marcus] Rashford’s not. At least they’ve got someone who looks he’ll mess people around and get his body in there. He’s aggressive, and he’s a runner.
‘The thing for him is he’s learning the game still. He’s only played a couple of seasons of top level football and we’re expected him to be Erling Haaland. That’s the problem.
‘Manchester United haven’t got anyone else with experience to back him up. We’ve been watching Martial for 9-10 years at Manchester United and he’s not what Erik ten Hag wants. This lad, lot of pressure on him, big price tag, but it was an encouraging start.’