Rasmus Hojlund | Napoli

[Lay]

Fair enough, I hadn't paid much attention to the mid-tier crisis in La Liga (why would I?), but happy to stand corrected on that front.

Still, I've got this nagging suspicion that Serie A isn't all it's cracked up to be. Like, have you actually watched these matches outside the top 4? The level of football is genuinely shocking at times. Genoa-Parma, Sassuolo-Empoli, Como-Udinese, Fiorentina-Cremonese, Verona-Torino, Cagliari-Lecce... I reckon if I had to watch more than one of these this weekend it would cure my insomnia. ;-)

I've watched those. I watch Serie A more than the EPL these days because the EPL just doesn't do anything for me..seems an artificial league nowadays with no real stories. I mean, what are the feel good stories? I go to my local side in league 1 more than I watch EPL games.

I'm not saying this is peak Italian football, it isn't but after seeing the depths it went to, the last 5 years have seen a marked improvement, especially in Europe.

I think I've watched more Napoli than United in the last 4-5 years. My kids are full blown Napoli fans over United too

 

[IrwinwasbetterthanCarlos]

You know what? Yeah, football peaked like 10 years ago. And that's not just me being a bitter United fan (though Christ, we have been dogshit). Football genuinely seemed more alive back in the Fergie, Wenger, Mourinho, Benitez era. Actual personalities managing actual football, not spreadsheet merchants optimizing xG.

Compare that to Arteta's Arsenal scoring half their goals from set pieces like they're playing Championship Manager on easy mode or Pep's City passing everyone into a coma with 900 sideways balls. It's all become so fecking sterile and robotic.

Even Liverpool, who were genuinely electric to watch (and yes, as a United fan I'm dry-heaving saying this) with Mane, Firmino and Salah tearing teams apart, are a pale shadow of that side now.

And if you want to compare this version of Madrid to 5-10 years ago? Or Atleti, Sevilla, Villarreal back then? It's not even close. La Liga's fallen off just like everyone else.

So sure, maybe Serie A's mid-table is "better" than La Liga's right now. But we're literally just arguing over which beige wall is slightly less beige. The whole sport's gone stale, mate.

The 00s was the perfect blend between improved professionalism, pitches and money coming into the game before it went too far into sports science and data and Pep turned art into maths…

Old man shouting at clouds? Possibly, possibly not.

 

[Suedesi]

I've watched those. I watch Serie A more than the EPL these days because the EPL just doesn't do anything for me..seems an artificial league nowadays with no real stories. I mean, what are the feel good stories? I go to my local side in league 1 more than I watch EPL games.

I'm not saying this is peak Italian football, it isn't but after seeing the depths it went to, the last 5 years have seen a marked improvement, especially in Europe.

I think I've watched more Napoli than United in the last 4-5 years. My kids are full blown Napoli fans over United too

Serie A is excellent for kids learning the game. You can really see how teams set up and study the tactical nuances in a way that's harder to parse in faster paced leagues.

For adults though? It's torture to watch. And that genuinely saddens me, because I grew up on the glory days of Platini, Boniek, Elkjær, Rummenigge, Brehme, Klinsmann, Baresi, Maldini, Gullit, Van Basten, Careca, Alemao, Bruno Conti and of course Diego! Those were the days when Serie A was the league to watch. The current version just doesn't capture that magic for me, even if it's improved from its lowest point.

 

[Berbaclass]

 

[Cassidy]

If they quality for the UCL the are required to sign Hojlund regardless

 

[Berbaclass]

If they quality for the UCL the are required to sign Hojlund regardless

In theory yeah.

 

[Lay]

Serie A is excellent for kids learning the game. You can really see how teams set up and study the tactical nuances in a way that's harder to parse in faster paced leagues.

For adults though? It's torture to watch. And that genuinely saddens me, because I grew up on the glory days of Platini, Boniek, Elkjær, Rummenigge, Brehme, Klinsmann, Baresi, Maldini, Gullit, Van Basten, Careca, Alemao, Bruno Conti and of course Diego! Those were the days when Serie A was the league to watch. The current version just doesn't capture that magic for me, even if it's improved from its lowest point.

Meh, I prefer it to other leagues. I have almost zero interest left in the EPL.

Not really a big deal. They have to sell to buy which may happen with Noa Lang allegedly up for sale and a couple of other fringe players

 

[Martial'sEmergingSmile]

This thread was on fire when he scored in a couple of games in a row.

Napoli have unlocked locked him right back up and thrown away the key.

Sesko's had one 5.x rating all season. Hojlund's had 3 in his last 4 games and 9 in total.

And the reason for that is even when Sesko's not scoring he has a base level of performance. He wins his duels, gets shots off and is involved in the build-up. Hojlund does none of those things.

 

[Posh Red]

This thread was on fire when he scored in a couple of games in a row.

Napoli have unlocked locked him right back up and thrown away the key.

Sesko's had one 5.x rating all season. Hojlund's had 3 in his last 4 games and 9 in total.

And the reason for that is even when Sesko's not scoring he has a base level of performance. He wins his duels, gets shots off and is involved in the build-up. Hojlund does none of those things.

Sesko is very visibly better than Hojlund. Always find it astounding when anyone attempts to compare Hojlund favourably to him.

 

[Pintu]

This thread was on fire when he scored in a couple of games in a row.

Napoli have unlocked locked him right back up and thrown away the key.

Sesko's had one 5.x rating all season. Hojlund's had 3 in his last 4 games and 9 in total.

And the reason for that is even when Sesko's not scoring he has a base level of performance. He wins his duels, gets shots off and is involved in the build-up. Hojlund does none of those things.

So far in their careers the only thing that Hojlund has over Sesko is the finishing and when that’s missing Rasmus is clearly the lesser player.

 

[Steve Bruce]

Hojlund needs a few years at a lower level team with good coaching. He'll never be a star but he could be a good player for a mid table team. He jumped to United far too early in his development and was in over his head

 

[lex talionis]

Do we not need a second striker? Zirkzee certainly isn't the man. Let's bring Rasmus back and let he and Benjamin duel it out for the top job. And hey, if they're both firing on all cylinders we can always revert to a two striker system.

 

[Invictus]

Do we not need a second striker? Zirkzee certainly isn't the man. Let's bring Rasmus back and let he and Benjamin duel it out for the top job. And hey, if they're both firing on all cylinders we can always revert to a two striker system.

There's a substantial buy clause (worth almost £40 million) in Højlund's contract with Napoli, which becomes mandatory if they qualify for the Champions League. We could reinvest that ~£40 million elsewhere (like central midfield or fullback) and sign Welbeck on a free transfer to provide near-term relief for Šeško. Very few strikers, beyond a certain stage of their careers, benefit from dueling with a similarly-aged challenger, as opposed to starting on a consistent basis to strike a good rhythm, build their confidence and sharpen their decision-making. Šeško has played close to 200 matches of senior football at club level (close to 250 if we include international level with Slovenia) and turns 23 years old in May, he's by no means a child.

P.S., Welbeck has scored 8 goals for Brighton in the Premier League this season. That's as many as Mateta for Crystal Palace and more than Watkins for Aston Villa. He can contribute and should be able to contribute for another year or two, whilst passing down some of the knowledge he has acquired over the course of his career to Šeško. Would bolster our homegrown quota figures, too!

 

[Lay]

Going through another goal drought. He was too busy wrestling the defender yesterday and falling to the floor.

 

[Oscar Bonavena]

Do we not need a second striker? Zirkzee certainly isn't the man. Let's bring Rasmus back and let he and Benjamin duel it out for the top job. And hey, if they're both firing on all cylinders we can always revert to a two striker system.

No, he's not good enough. Towards the end of his time at United, he spent most of his time backing into defenders, falling on his arse, couldn't control a ball and couldn't lay off a 5 yard pass. And he would go games upon games without even registering for shot, let alone a goal.

We keep hanging onto players that are clearly not good enough for too long. Let's cash in on him and get in a better player.

 

[Kostov]

A young player being inconsistent, shocker.

 

[L1nk]

Hojlund needs a few years at a lower level team with good coaching. He'll never be a star but he could be a good player for a mid table team. He jumped to United far too early in his development and was in over his head

I honestly think he should have stayed with Atalanta for another 2 seasons. If he had done that he might have been the striker we went after instead of Sesko, had he developed properly. It is what it is now

 

[SonOfFergie]

I honestly think he should have stayed with Atalanta for another 2 seasons. If he had done that he might have been the striker we went after instead of Sesko, had he developed properly. It is what it is now

Serie A is his level. EPL was a level to high. It is perfectly fine. He will still have a good career. But it has started to become very problematic to buy players from other weaker leagues for big money and be sure they will translate their form in EPL. Bundesliga and Serie A players have been more miss than hit recently.

 

[giorno]

Sesko is very visibly better than Hojlund. Always find it astounding when anyone attempts to compare Hojlund favourably to him.

Agree. The thing was - is Sesko so much better that it was worth swapping them instead of spending the money on a midfielder? Especially after having signed Cunha, too

 

[Posh Red]

Agree. The thing was - is Sesko so much better that it was worth swapping them instead of spending the money on a midfielder? Especially after having signed Cunha, too

That all depends on the kind of midfielder we could have signed for a net cost of around thirty or forty million.

 

[Lay]

That all depends on the kind of midfielder we could have signed for a net cost of around thirty or forty million.

Probably someone like Ruben Neves and then complained our midfield is too easy to get at.

That said, Hojlund needed to leave for his own sake. He looked completely devoid of any confidence.

 

[Mike Smalling]

Agree. The thing was - is Sesko so much better that it was worth swapping them instead of spending the money on a midfielder? Especially after having signed Cunha, too

It definitely was not sustainable to have Højlund as the starting striker for another season, after what he delivered in 24/25.

Ultimately we bought players for a system we will no longer play, by overinvesting in #10's. If we now go back to a 4-2-3-1, you could argue that Sesko, Mbeumo, Cunha should have been Striker, CM, LW to maximize the quality in the starting XI. Instead we have Cunha forced to play on the left and Mbeumo/Amad being two of our best forwards, essentially playing the same position. I know it's hindsight, but also just illustrates the disastrous lack of planning.

 

[lex talionis]

No, he's not good enough. Towards the end of his time at United, he spent most of his time backing into defenders, falling on his arse, couldn't control a ball and couldn't lay off a 5 yard pass. And he would go games upon games without even registering for shot, let alone a goal.

We keep hanging onto players that are clearly not good enough for too long. Let's cash in on him and get in a better player.

Rasmus Hojlund is certainly no prime Wayne Rooney, but with the investment we made in Sesko and the need to strengthen midfield as well as bringing in a RB to upgrade on Dalot there’s just not going to be funds to buy a second striker this summer. The thought of us going into next season with only one striker should concern all of us.

 

[lex talionis]

There's a substantial buy clause (worth almost £40 million) in Højlund's contract with Napoli, which becomes mandatory if they qualify for the Champions League. We could reinvest that ~£40 million elsewhere (like central midfield or fullback) and sign Welbeck on a free transfer to provide near-term relief for Šeško. Very few strikers, beyond a certain stage of their careers, benefit from dueling with a similarly-aged challenger, as opposed to starting on a consistent basis to strike a good rhythm, build their confidence and sharpen their decision-making. Šeško has played close to 200 matches of senior football at club level (close to 250 if we include international level with Slovenia) and turns 23 years old in May, he's by no means a child.

P.S., Welbeck has scored 8 goals for Brighton in the Premier League this season. That's as many as Mateta for Crystal Palace and more than Watkins for Aston Villa. He can contribute and should be able to contribute for another year or two, whilst passing down some of the knowledge he has acquired over the course of his career to Šeško. Would bolster our homegrown quota figures, too!

Is the clause a mandatory sell clause?

 

[Gandalf]

Going through another goal drought. He was too busy wrestling the defender yesterday and falling to the floor.

To be fair he had a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out against Verona for a non existent handball. Napoli are really struggling creatively though, with KDB out and no movement on a new signing they are a lot of effort with very little inspiration and it is going to cost them the chance to retain their title.

 

[Borys]

Rasmus Hojlund is certainly no prime Wayne Rooney, but with the investment we made in Sesko and the need to strengthen midfield as well as bringing in a RB to upgrade on Dalot there’s just not going to be funds to buy a second striker this summer. The thought of us going into next season with only one striker should concern all of us.

We don't need to replace Dalot as he isn't going to be first choice right back once Mazraoui is back. Cunha is capable of playing the striker role and we'll need to live with it probably next season.

All of the funds should be pumped into midfield this summer, no compromises in that area.

 

[lex talionis]

We don't need to replace Dalot as he isn't going to be first choice right back once Mazraoui is back. Cunha is capable of playing the striker role and we'll need to live with it probably next season.

All of the funds should be pumped into midfield this summer, no compromises in that area.

Dalot/Mazraoui won't bother many opposing LWs -- upgrade required on Dalot, who has already spent 7 years (not sure about the number) at Old Trafford and it's time for us to move on from him.

But that aside, Cunha isn't going to be Sesko's backup and in any event his skillset is that of a LW, not a traditional 9. I think we all know this, but I'll state it anyway -- he likes to carry the ball from the left side into pockets of space rather than pinning down CBs. He craves the freedom to roam. Those are not the attributes we need for a backup to Sesko, although there may be game situations once in a long while where we'll want to push Cunha in centrally.

But above all, and you and everyone else are absolutely correct, we need to rebuild our midfield. It's probably time this summer to cash in on Bruno, Casemiro is done, Ugarte isn't good enough to start but probably good enough to hang as on a squad man, Mount is a jack of all trades but master of none and in any event can't play more than three matches on the trot and although I'm high on Mainoo the jury is out on whether he can develop the physical strength to hold the position. So two buys, possibly even three, depending on whether young players like Collyer can break through.

All of that points to why we probably can't afford to buy a second striker as we do need to spend bigly on midfield and probably a RB (defending has been our albatross this season) if we have the funds to do so. But if the contract with Napoli is such that we must sell Hojlund to Napoli if they qualify for the CL then that is that and we'll have dip into the academy for that second striker, which is a bit scary but we do have some interesting prospects. It would be mad to go into the new season with just Sesko at CF. Cunha is easily our first choice at LW...unless talk of Rashford coming back is real and Cunha is forced into the backup CF role behind Sesko, but I just don't see that happening.

 

[Devarshi]

Rasmus Hojlund is certainly no prime Wayne Rooney, but with the investment we made in Sesko and the need to strengthen midfield as well as bringing in a RB to upgrade on Dalot there’s just not going to be funds to buy a second striker this summer. The thought of us going into next season with only one striker should concern all of us.

Cunha or Mbeumo could play up top, and do a better job than Hojlund.

Edit: Just saw your reply above re: this, feel free to ignore this comment

 

[lex talionis]

Cunha or Mbeumo could play up top, and do a better job than Hojlund.

Edit: Just saw your reply above re: this, feel free to ignore this comment

Thanks for the reply anyway. I'm all for creativity, but my view on things is to use players where they play best rather than to shoehorn them into suboptimal positions. The idea is for a backup to Sesko, which Cunha and Mbeumo were not brought in to serve as.

 

[Ish]

Is the clause a mandatory sell clause?

Apparently so - it’s an obligation if Napoli qualifies for the champions league.

 

[Invictus]

Is the clause a mandatory sell clause?

 

[Borys]

Dalot/Mazraoui won't bother many opposing LWs -- upgrade required on Dalot, who has already spent 7 years (not sure about the number) at Old Trafford and it's time for us to move on from him.

But that aside, Cunha isn't going to be Sesko's backup and in any event his skillset is that of a LW, not a traditional 9. I think we all know this, but I'll state it anyway -- he likes to carry the ball from the left side into pockets of space rather than pinning down CBs. He craves the freedom to roam. Those are not the attributes we need for a backup to Sesko, although there may be game situations once in a long while where we'll want to push Cunha in centrally.

But above all, and you and everyone else are absolutely correct, we need to rebuild our midfield. It's probably time this summer to cash in on Bruno, Casemiro is done, Ugarte isn't good enough to start but probably good enough to hang as on a squad man, Mount is a jack of all trades but master of none and in any event can't play more than three matches on the trot and although I'm high on Mainoo the jury is out on whether he can develop the physical strength to hold the position. So two buys, possibly even three, depending on whether young players like Collyer can break through.

All of that points to why we probably can't afford to buy a second striker as we do need to spend bigly on midfield and probably a RB (defending has been our albatross this season) if we have the funds to do so. But if the contract with Napoli is such that we must sell Hojlund to Napoli if they qualify for the CL then that is that and we'll have dip into the academy for that second striker, which is a bit scary but we do have some interesting prospects. It would be mad to go into the new season with just Sesko at CF. Cunha is easily our first choice at LW...unless talk of Rashford coming back is real and Cunha is forced into the backup CF role behind Sesko, but I just don't see that happening.

We can discuss RB/striker options but the point is - whole midfield needs to be reworked, basically wiped clean and build from scratch. Do not try to save money there, we've been in that position too many times. Once this is done we can talk about other positions - my opinion is we could live with Mazraoui/Dalot and Cunha/Mbuemo as backuo for Sesko for a season.

The problem with Sesko is we don't need another young striker, rather someone experienced for a couple of years who will be happy as a backup. Maybe that's doable for cheap in the summer. RB is a different story and I would be comfortable with what we have.

 

[BeforeKeanetherewasRobson]

How does that work?

If they get CL, club is obliged to buy but player can what…. say no (and it’s their problem) or veto it? (which seems a stupid thing for a selling club to agree to)

 

[Pintu]

@BeforeKeanetherewasRobson

How does that work?

If they get CL, club is obliged to buy but player can what…. say no (and it’s their problem) or veto it? (which seems a stupid thing for a selling club to agree to)

This isn't accurate. It has been communicated officially by Napoli that he has already signed a conditional long term contract (till 2030) with Napoli. That contract is only contingent on Napoli and United finalizing the transfer either by mutual agreement or by the obligation kicking in. Which it will kick in given the number of appearances has already been met and the main condition, Napoli qualifying for the next UCL, is very likely.

 

[Gandalf]

@BeforeKeanetherewasRobson





This isn't accurate. It has been communicated officially by Napoli that he has already signed a conditional long term contract (till 2030) with Napoli. That contract is only contingent on Napoli and United finalizing the transfer either by mutual agreement or by the obligation kicking in. Which it will kick in given the number of appearances has already been met and the main condition, Napoli qualifying for the next UCL, is very likely.

Exactly. Hojlund was reported as being very keen to push for an obligation and not an option to buy when he was leaving as he wanted a clear idea of his future and the contractual terms for the permanent deal were wrapped up at the beginning of the loan. In addition, Napoli have also spoken on more than one occasion about their desire to keep him even if the obligation is not triggered.

 

[Invictus]

How does that work?

If they get CL, club is obliged to buy but player can what…. say no (and it’s their problem) or veto it? (which seems a stupid thing for a selling club to agree to)

@BeforeKeanetherewasRobson





This isn't accurate. It has been communicated officially by Napoli that he has already signed a conditional long term contract (till 2030) with Napoli. That contract is only contingent on Napoli and United finalizing the transfer either by mutual agreement or by the obligation kicking in. Which it will kick in given the number of appearances has already been met and the main condition, Napoli qualifying for the next UCL, is very likely.

Exactly. Hojlund was reported as being very keen to push for an obligation and not an option to buy when he was leaving as he wanted a clear idea of his future and the contractual terms for the permanent deal were wrapped up at the beginning of the loan. In addition, Napoli have also spoken on more than one occasion about their desire to keep him even if the obligation is not triggered.

The bit at the end, “but Hojlund is still to agree to the move. He has expressed his desire to stay at United and that remains a possibility”, refers to the initial transfer to Napoli. The pertinent bit is what precedes it: “the clause to sign permanently kicks in if Napoli qualify for the Champions League.” The tweet is from August 30 2025, before the initial transfer to Napoli was formalized and announced on September 01 2025. Højlund had the liberty to turn down that initial move to Napoli, at that point in time, before things were formalized and announced, if he wanted to, out of dissatisfaction with the conditions or some other reason(s), and chosen to stay at Manchester United.

 

[Hans Wurst]

There's a substantial buy clause (worth almost £40 million) in Højlund's contract with Napoli, which becomes mandatory if they qualify for the Champions League. We could reinvest that ~£40 million elsewhere (like central midfield or fullback) and sign Welbeck on a free transfer to provide near-term relief for Šeško. Very few strikers, beyond a certain stage of their careers, benefit from dueling with a similarly-aged challenger, as opposed to starting on a consistent basis to strike a good rhythm, build their confidence and sharpen their decision-making. Šeško has played close to 200 matches of senior football at club level (close to 250 if we include international level with Slovenia) and turns 23 years old in May, he's by no means a child.

P.S., Welbeck has scored 8 goals for Brighton in the Premier League this season. That's as many as Mateta for Crystal Palace and more than Watkins for Aston Villa. He can contribute and should be able to contribute for another year or two, whilst passing down some of the knowledge he has acquired over the course of his career to Šeško. Would bolster our homegrown quota figures, too!

If we could bring him in for a reasonable fee I can't imagine any United fan being against it. Would be the perfect transitional solution, an experienced striker for Ben to learn from and an academy lad likely being happy he's back at United once more, at the other end of his career.
I loved him when he was here and would be very happy to see him back. I feel like this has been talked about for a few seasons already though, and nothing ever materialized...

 

[lex talionis]

So it seems Hojlund is as good as gone, which leaves us with one striker going into next season as there’s very little chance our budget will allow for a complete rebuild of midfield and a new RB, which we desperately need, and a new second striker. Hopefully someone from the academy is ready to step up.

 

[IsoJoe]

So it seems Hojlund is as good as gone, which leaves us with one striker going into next season as there’s very little chance our budget will allow for a complete rebuild of midfield and a new RB, which we desperately need, and a new second striker. Hopefully someone from the academy is ready to step up.

Or we just buy a main striker and drop Sesko to second , ain’t no way we go into next season relying on an academy player to be the Second Striker.

We all know we made a silly mistake buying Sesko as a main knowing what we went through with Rasmus.

We need an established “goal getter “, can’t be relying on 23s and under to lead the way, especially when they are not known finishers.

 

[tomaldinho1]

So it seems Hojlund is as good as gone, which leaves us with one striker going into next season as there’s very little chance our budget will allow for a complete rebuild of midfield and a new RB, which we desperately need, and a new second striker. Hopefully someone from the academy is ready to step up.

I don't see why we don't just sign Jiminez for a year, he'll be out of contract and is still banging them in. He'll also be cheap, not like a Cavani £250k a week job. Then loan someone in like Spurs did with Muani and you have a clear 1st choice CF in Sesko + two decent backups with different skillsets without eating into the budget we need to use on CMs and likely defenders.