Why Manchester United couldn’t sell Rasmus Hojlund’s shirt

Fans hoping to get their hands on the new striker’s number 11 shirt from the club’s shop were forced to wait

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Manchester United fans looking to buy a Rasmus Hojlund (spelt Højlund in Danish) shirt were made to wait more than a month with the club shop unable to print the letter ‘ø’.

The Old Trafford club secured the Danish striker’s signing from Atalanta at the start of August, but according to a report in the Daily Mail, fans could not purchase a jersey bearing his name as late as last week.

The 20-year-old arrived with plenty of Manchester United supporters optimistic he would soon be leading the line for Erik ten Hag’s side, with Hojlund handed the number 11.

An injury disrupted the start of the centre forward’s season, though, and fans hoping to mark his arrival with the purchase of an appropriately printed shirt were left disappointed.

The vowel ø is a letter used in the Danish, Norwegian, Faroese, and Southern Sámi languages.

“It’s incompetence,’ a fan, who had been hoping to gift Hojlund’s shirt to a relative, told the Mail. “The big summer signing and you still can’t get a shirt with his name on it because nobody saw fit to get the Danish ‘ø’.”

Manchester United have told the paper that the letters have now arrived and Hojlund’s name can be printed.

Ten Hag handed Hojlund a debut in the defeat to Arsenal, while the forward has featured twice off the bench for Denmark during the international break.

The Dane, who scored nine times in Serie A last season, was signed on an initial five-year deal for a reported fee that could rise beyond £70m.