The gift was because he turned 21. Arguably, though, he came of age on Boxing Day, the evening he capped a comeback against Aston Villa, the night his own drought turned into a flood.
Most of the definitive United forwards have made an auspicious start, scoring early. Not Hojlund: not in the Premier League, anyway. His first 14 outings yielded no goals and, for good measure, no assists. Since then he has scored four and made two in four matches: a gliding, thumping opener against West Ham may have been the pick of the bunch.
“I got my present in the morning and now I got an even bigger one so I am happy,” he said, but this was earned, not wrapped.
It made for a fine birthday for a rough diamond. United invested a lot of hope and money in Hojlund when he was 20. For much of his debut campaign at Old Trafford, he has been outscored by Scott McTominay. For three months, he trailed behind Hannibal Mejbri for league goals.
“I have always believed in myself, it has just been about getting the rhythm going,” he said. Confidence, too, and the way he skipped past Nayef Aguerd before scoring spoke to his belief. “You get one goal, then two and get a bit of momentum and start linking up with the players.” Two burgeoning alliances offer particular hope.
Ten Hag has talked about the connection between Hojlund and Rashford. The win against West Ham was based on another double act: the Dane and Alejandro Garnacho, who was electric.