Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund is being let down by his teammates

Rasmus Hojlund is yet to score a Premier League goal this season and he was replaced in the second half against West Ham.

It's almost Christmas and Rasmus Hojlund still hasn't scored a goal in the Premier League for Manchester United. United signed Hojlund from Atalanta in a deal worth £72million in the summer and nobody predicted he would reach 2024 without scoring in the league, despite that fee being a long-term investment.

Hojlund has five goals in Europe but it hasn't clicked domestically. The longer a first league goal is elusive, the bigger talking point it becomes and the pressure on his young shoulders is already too much.

Hojlund, who scored just nine league goals for Atalanta in the season before he was signed, shouldn't have been the only striker brought in and a more experienced forward should have arrived with him.

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United needed a proven goalscorer and they signed Hojlund instead. The move was a risk and the club backed Erik ten Hag to polish him into a diamond but his development was always bound to take time.

Although there's no doubt Hojlund has all the tools to eventually succeed in the Premier League, he is currently struggling and it was hard not to feel sorry for him as he trudged off the pitch against West Ham.

Hojlund was replaced by Marcus Rashford just before the hour mark at the London Stadium and Ten Hag confirmed he'd been unwell during the week when asked about the substitution at his press conference.

"I think he's a very strong character and he can deal with the stress," Ten Hag said. "I took him off as he was ill during the week, so a little bit lack of power, so in that sense I protected him.

"We have to play two more games this week but we can't feel sorry for ourselves, no one. We have to take responsibility. If you are playing for Manchester United we have to do it together and everyone has to be accountable and take responsibility."

Like all strikers have to be, Hojlund is a confident individual but his confidence must have taken a knock in recent months. He's only human and will have been demoralised by failing to score a league goal each week.

There have been chances for Hojlund, with big opportunities against Luton Town and Manchester City immediately coming to mind, but his teammates are letting him down.

He's been forced to feed off scraps in most matches and his predicament is highlighted by Antony and Alejandro Garnacho completing just 11 passes to him this season, which is a damning statistic.

Hojlund is simply not receiving the ball and he was anonymous against West Ham but his teammates did not help. That's been the story of the season and the wingers must provide him with more passes and crosses.

While there is a tendency for wingers in the modern game to cut inside, Hojlund has all the qualities to be menacing in the opposition's box and he would hugely benefit from crosses being played in.

His physicality and raw power are criminally underused and it's not been a surprise to see Hojund cut an increasingly frustrated figure because his teammates have been doing him no favours.

United have now failed to score in four straight games for the first since autumn 1992 and they have scored the same number of goals (18) as Luton Town and Burnley, who both sit in the relegation zone.

They need Hojlund to score goals but he needs his teammates to help him.