Manchester United have received an approach for striker Rasmus Hojlund, who was recently name-checked by co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the kind of player the club have overpaid for
Manchester United have reportedly begun initial talks with Napoli over the potential sale of Rasmus Hojlund in the summer transfer window. Hojlund has struggled with the expectation thrust upon him after he joined United in a £72million transfer from Atalanta in August 2023 and could leave at the next opportunity.
The 22-year-old striker had gone 21 games without scoring before finding the back of the net in the comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester on Sunday. He has 24 goals in 82 goals altogether for the club, but was called out by United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe as being indicative of the kind of overspending he wants to eradicate.
“If you look at the players we are buying, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying [Andre] Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying [Jadon] Sancho,” Ratcliffe told BBC Sport recently. “These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.”
It seems United could be tempted to ‘sort out’ Hojlund this summer, with La Gazzetta dello Sport reporting that Napoli have made contact over the Danish international. United have reportedly set an asking price of €60m (£50m) for the striker, who is under contract until June 2028.
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Napoli are keen to bring in reinforcements up front with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia having left for Paris Saint-Germain and Victor Osimhen out on loan at Galatasaray and extremely likely to be sold in the summer.
Hojlund has been identified as a possibility alongside Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca, who would represent a cheaper alternative at around €35-40m (£29-33.5m).
It is reported that Napoli would not be willing to reach United’s £50m price tag for Hojlund but are willing to continue talks over the coming months in an attempt to find a compromise. Ineos look set to implement an overhaul in the summer, but it remains to be seen whether Hojlund will be a part of the expected exodus.
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Speaking this week while on international duty, Hojlund expressed some frustration at the direction of travel at United, but said he was determined to ride it out.
“I’m focused on the task with Ruben [Amorim], because that project is incredibly exciting, but Erik [ten Hag] was of course one of the reasons why I moved to Manchester United,” he told the press.
“He was doing something good and was a talented coach, but it didn’t work out, and that’s how it is. I’m still very happy to be at Manchester United. It’s the club I’ve always dreamed of playing for. And I’m really happy for Ruben – he’s a cool character and a cool person.”
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