It's been a while since Manchester United fans had a No. 9 they could truly fall for. This isn't a shirt with the lineage and history of the No. 7, but it still means something at Old Trafford. It should really mean a guarantee of goals.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic in 2016/17 is probably the last No. 9 that was really appreciated by the Stretford End. Anthony Martial's tenure in the shirt was mainly disappointing and he was the epitome of someone who found it too weighty to perform on a consistent basis.

Romelu Lukaku held it for two years before that. A return of 42 goals in 96 games was respectable but below par for a PS75million fee, and his style never endeared him to the fans who helped pay his wages.

Now, it falls to Rasmus Hojlund to try and bring goals and glory back to that shirt. Ibrahimovic shone brightly for a year, Radamel Falcao was a disappointment, and then it's back to Dimitar Berbatov and Andy Cole for players who were worthy of the shirt always associated with strikers.

Hojlund inherited the number this season, moving from No. 11 when Martial left the club, with Joshua Zirkzee taking the Dane's old number. After scoring his first Premier League goal as United's No. 9, the 21-year-old was coy about how the move came about.

"I'm keeping that to myself," he said, when he was asked if he had been given the number or had specifically asked for it. He didn't want to discuss whether he had had any second thoughts over taking on a mantle that does come with a degree of pressure.

Hojlund has always been a No. 9 in the wider sense, but only at Sturm Graz has he worn the number before. A year ago, he moved to Old Trafford for PS64m, rising to PS72m, and was still a callow striker with a limited CV. United believed they had found a rough diamond that could be polished.

He scored 16 goals in his first season at the club, and although he is aware of the expectations now that he's got his new number, he also thinks of it as just that: a number.

"It means a lot, but I'm not trying to put extra pressure on it, because in the end, it's a number," he said. "But obviously, it's great meaning for this football club and also to me. But in the end, it's just a number in the back."

Hojlund's challenge now is to build on his Old Trafford winner against Brentford. He has two goals in three starts this season, having recovered from a hamstring injury suffered 13 minutes into his first appearance of pre-season.

United had been short of goals heading into the fixture with Brentford, and at half-time, when they were losing 1-0, they were the joint-lowest scorers in the league alongside Crystal Palace. A comeback was fuelled by the anger of the way they conceded late in the first half when Ethan Pinnock scored from a corner while Matthijs de Ligt was off the pitch.

Alejandro Garnacho scored a stunning volley from Marcus Rashford's excellent assist before Hojlund's outstanding finish turned the game on its head. As United's No. 9, he will be expected to lead the charge up the table, and he is ready to do just that.

"I try to do better every day. I think that's the mindset I'm always trying to do. I don't think too much about this and that," he said. "I'm only trying to focus on going on the training pitch every day and focus on becoming better. I know I've been in those moments a lot of times, even in the youth team or whatever. So I know what to do in these sort of moments. But obviously, it's a great start and I want to keep going."