After two underwhelming years at Old Trafford, Rasmus Højlund has finally left Manchester United to join reigning Serie A champions Napoli on an initial loan that will likely be made permanent next summer.
Højlund arrived in Manchester in 2023 for an initial €75 million (£65 million, $87.9 million) with bundles of promise but not much of a proven track record. He leaves having failed to fulfill that potential on a loan which will cost Napoli €6 million to begin with before an obligatory sale worth €44 million in 2026 if Napoli qualifies for the Champions League, per The Athletic.
The hard-running Dane only had one full season of top-flight football under his belt when Erik ten Hag oversaw his Mancunian arrival, yet he was riding high on Erling Haaland comparisons after a burst of goals for Atalanta from January onwards.
While he routinely enjoyed his European outings for United—Højlund mustered an impressive 11 goals across 17 starts in the Champions League and Europa League—domestic success was short-lived. It took an interminable 15 appearances and four months before his first Premier League goal on Boxing Day 2023.
United’s striker managed to hit double digits during that first league campaign yet found the net a pitiful four times in 2024–25. Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson boasted the same number of direct Premier League goal contributions as Højlund last term.
After such a dire output, Ruben Amorim oversaw the arrival of three new forwards for the princely sum of £200 million this summer. The acquisition of Benjamin Šeško, a player who—in the words of United’s head coach—has the same qualities as Højlund, effectively sealed the Dane’s departure.
It was not a straightforward sale for United. Højlund repeatedly stressed his desire to stay and fight for a starting spot only to be left out of the squad entirely for the club’s opening fixtures of the new campaign.
Højlund’s stock in Serie A remains somewhat surprisingly high and Napoli had to fight off advances from AC Milan to secure a deal for the 22-year-old.
In the absence of the injured Romelu Lukaku, Højlund is expected to be the starting striker for Antonio Conte’s reigning Serie A champions. The bustling forward will be joined in the box by his former Manchester United teammate Scott McTominay who will both hope to be supplied by ex-Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rasmus Hojlund Completes Man Utd Exit, Terms of Permanent Deal Revealed.
