Best Alternatives to Rasmus Højlund

Playing Style Analysis

Højlund arrived in Serie A carrying the blueprint of a modern target forward — raw, physical, and still being written. His goal return of 0.43 per 90 places him comfortably in the top 30% of Serie A attackers, a figure that flatters a player whose broader offensive contribution remains frustratingly thin. The counterintuitive read here is his aerial dominance: winning nearly half his aerial duels at above-average volume, he functions as a genuine aerial threat in a league that punishes soft strikers — yet his ground duel rate sits in the bottom 10%, exposing a player who struggles when the game drops to feet. The three closest DNA matches to Rasmus Højlund:

• Marcus Thuram(80% match) — Marcus Thuram is a Poacher. Clinical finisher who lives for goals inside the box.
• Moise Kean(80% match) — A Complete Forward. Statistically, he stands out as a constant goal threat (4.3 shots/90) and a regular goalscorer (0.35 goals/90).
• Loïs Openda(80% match) — A Complete Forward. Statistically, he stands out as a capable chance creator (1.1 key passes/90), a constant goal threat (3.6 shots/90), wins the physical battle (55% duel success) and draws fouls effectively (3.0/90).

Similarity uses per-90 performance across playing-style dimensions. How Player DNA matching works →