5 Dream Team replacements for out-of-sorts Marcus Rashford – including Rasmus Hojlund!

ALL is not well at Manchester United.

Having lost to Crystal Palace in the Premier League at the weekend, the Red Devils lost to Galatasaray on Tuesday night, despite taking the lead twice at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag has overseen six defeats already this season to leave his side tenth in the league and bottom of their Champions League group.

Multiple factors have contributed to this stuttering start, not least a litter of injuries, but Marcus Rashford’s (£5.7m) form is a major concern, not least for the 13.3% of Dream Team gaffers currently backing him.

The England international’s decision-making has been questionable since the start of the campaign and while he was undoubtedly one of the world’s most in-form players earlier this year, he simply doesn’t look right at the moment.

With that in mind, here are five potential replacements for Dream Team’s sixth-most popular striker…

Rasmus Hojlund (£3.7m)

A straight swap from one Man United forward to another is certainly a viable option.

The rapid Dane scored both his side’s goals against their Turkish opposition in midweek and his performances since recovering from injury have provided fans with a reason to be hopeful that the club can eventually settle in 2023/24.

Whereas Rashford averages just 2.7 points-per-game across his last three outings, Hojlund averages 6.3 points-per-game in the same time frame.

Many Dream Team bosses will feel like staying away from Man United assets altogether but their fixtures are relatively friendly leading up to a daunting Manchester derby at the end of the month.

This coming weekend, Ten Hag’s side host a Brentford side without a win since Gameweek 2 before a trip to 20th-placed Sheffield United and another home European game against Copenhagen.

Ollie Watkins (£4.1m)

Not only would this transfer allow gaffers to swap an out-of-sorts striker for one bang in form, it would also free up an additional £1.6m to spend on improvements elsewhere.

Aston Villa’s No11 plundered 25 points against Brighton last Saturday via a hat-trick and two assists for the highest single-game return among all players so far this season.

While it would unreasonable to expect Watkins to repeat that masterclass on a weekly basis, he’s well placed to build upon his overall tally of 58 points in the coming weeks.

Unai Emery’s troops face Wolves, West Ham, Luton, Nottingham Forest and Fulham in their next five league games – plus favourable match-ups in the Europa Conference League (on paper at least).

Watkins started the season with a series of assists but some frustratingly wasteful finishes in the league but he’s well and truly found his shooting boots now and, given the Villains’ attacking verve, may well embark on something of a scoring streak in the coming Gameweeks.

Julian Alvarez (£4.5m)

The World Cup winner has arguably been Manchester City’s best player this season and his total of 75 points is bettered only by team-mate Erling Haaland (£8m) among forwards.

The Argentina international has scored five goals and provided five assists in nine outings and only Jordan Ayew (£2.8m) has more bonus points among players in his position.

Alvarez has registered a whopping 16 shots on target this term – only Haaland has more to his name – and his new role as the treble-winners’ specialist set-piece taker has made him a top-tier Dream Team performer.

He’s likely to feature against RB Leipzig this evening where he’ll almost certainly extend his 30-point lead over Rashford further.

Son Heung-min (£4.7m)

Continuing the theme of players second only to Haaland in key metrics, Tottenham’s captain has six goals to the Norwegian poacher’s eight this season.

The South Korean superstar kickstarted his campaign with a hat-trick against Burnley in Gameweek 4 and not looked back.

Son was Spurs’ derby day hero against Arsenal for his brace at the Emirates and he scored against another tough opponent in Liverpool most recently.

The 16.5%-owned forward is a popular recruit ahead of Gameweek 8 with Ange Postecoglou’s side set to face Luton.

Darwin Nunez (£4.2m)

Dream Team managers may find it a struggle to swap Rashford for Mohamed Salah (£6.7m) because of the price difference and so the Uruguay international offers a cheaper route into Liverpool’s dynamic attacking unit.

The 24-year-old possess a distinct chaotic energy but this trait makes him a nightmare to defend against when he’s full of confidence.

Nunez didn’t feature against Spurs but with Cody Gakpo (£3.2m) seemingly set for a stint on the sidelines, the former should be back in favour.

The ex-Benfica man banked 42 points between Gameweeks 3 and 6 – his tally of four goals and three assists is only marginally shy of Salah’s record with the Egyptian having played considerably more minutes.

Jurgen Klopp’s side desperately need to improve their discipline as regular red cards have been an unwelcome hindrance to what has otherwise been an encouraging start to the season.

The Reds face Brighton in Gameweek 8 and then play Everton, Toulouse, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, and Luton in their first five games after the international break.

Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk