Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has told journalists that the club’s loan signing of Rasmus Højlund is expected to become permanent, describing the outcome as largely settled.

Højlund has scored nine times across all competitions for Antonio Conte’s side and collected the 2025–26 Supercoppa Italiana following the final victory over Bologona. After the game the striker posted a photo of himself with the trophy alongside the caption: “What a great decision looks like.”

When asked by Corriere dello Sport if the permanent transfer was a formality, Manna replied: “As of today, I think so.” He added: “There’s an option to buy and an obligation to buy if we qualify for the Champions League. The player considers himself a Napoli player, and the same goes for us. This is extremely important.”

The financial swing will be notable. United paid an initial fee of £64 million ($86 million) to sign Højlund from Atalanta in 2023, yet Napoli are expected to secure the forward for roughly £38 million. The deal will be viewed as another major blunder for the Red Devils during an era characterised by dismal recruitment at Old Trafford.

Højlund’s career at United drew intense scrutiny after two inconsistent seasons. He followed a 16-goal debut campaign with just 10 strikes last term and struggled under Ruben Amorim alongside Joshua Zirkzee, prompting questions about his form before the loan move to Napoli. The Denmark international has rejected the notion that he underperformed at Manchester United.

Hojlund revealed : “It was a lot of attention and a lot of pressure, obviously. But I feel like it was hard for me not to take that step as I was a United fan. And I feel like I did well.

“You could argue I probably needed a year [more at Atalanta] or whatever, but I feel like it was the right step for me,” he added. “And like I said, I think I did well in my first year, especially, where I became top scorer and in the team and had a good campaign in the Champions League and so on, and won a trophy with the guys.”

Rasmus Højlund has repeatedly been his own toughest critic, but he has also accepted the burden that comes with rapid advancement and high expectation. He moved from FC Copenhagen’s academy into senior football, spent six months skirting the first team before a spell at Sturm Graz, and after one season in Serie A with Atalanta he signed for Manchester United in 2023 at the age of 20.

He called the leap from reserve to United’s starting striker “a little bit surrealistic” at the time and now stands by the decision to make that jump. “You could argue I probably needed a year or whatever, but I feel like it was the right step for me,” he says. “And like I said, I think I did well in my first year, especially, where I became top scorer and in the team and had a good campaign in the Champions League and so on, and won a trophy with the guys.”

His debut Premier League season featured a slow start, with his first top-flight goal arriving on Boxing Day, but it was offset by a strong Champions League group stage in 2023–24 when he scored five times in six games. He also came off the bench in the second half of the 2024 FA Cup final, which United won against Manchester City.

“The pressure is big and and you learn from that,” Højlund sagely reflects. “You take that, you put that in your bag. And you just learn from it, get more used to it and grow with it.”

Statistic (All Comps)
Højlund Value
Squad Rank
Appearances 43 =5th
Starts 35 =5th
Goals 16 1st
Total Shots 57 6th
Assists 2 =9th
Stats via FBref.

Now with Napoli, who would be obliged to trigger a buy clause worth around £38 million should they qualify for the Champions League this season, Højlund stresses his commitment while remaining technically a Manchester United player. “All of them are more or less my friends,” he says. “So obviously I’m still watching them and wishing them good luck every time they play.”

He has already bettered his final Premier League campaign goal tally and is central to Napoli’s defence of their Serie A title. Under Antonio Conte he continues to push himself. “I think proving it for yourself it’s the most important one,” he says, “because if you prove it to yourself, I think you prove it to the rest of the world as well, because I got very high expectations for myself.

“I like to put the bar high, because then you push yourself as much as possible. Whereas if you reach a goal, like, let’s just say early in the season … then you would probably automatically lean back. Whereas if you focus in on I’m not saying the impossible but like try to hit, almost impossible…”

Stood in the bowels of Chicago’s Soldier Field, drenched in sweat after scoring two goals in a statement preseason victory over Bournemouth, Rasmus Højlund assured journalists passing through the mixed zone that he would be staying at Manchester United that summer “whatever happens.”

That assurance and the chain of events that followed are now clearer from Højlund’s perspective. He says United made it plain he was not part of the manager’s plans, and that prompted a move away from Old Trafford. “United made it quite clear for me that I wasn’t part of the plans for this year coming into the season, and with no European football and that sort of things,” he says, four months into a loan spell at Napoli which contains an conditional obligation to buy should the reigning Serie A title holders qualify for the Champions League next season.

“I’m young, I have to play football,” Højlund adds, “and for that reason, I think this was also a good opportunity for me.”

In the weeks between that preseason promise and his departure, Manchester United completed the signing of Benjamin Šeško from RB Leipzig in a deal which could cost up to £73.7 million, eclipsing the £72 million United paid for Højlund two years earlier. Højlund was left out of Ruben Amorim’s squad for the first three Premier League games and watched as Šeško and co. were knocked out of the Carabao Cup second round by Grimsby Town.

When Napoli expressed interest Højlund acted quickly. “Napoli saw an opportunity to go and get me and as soon as I heard the interest from them, I made it quite obvious for my camp and for the people around that I only wanted to to go there.” Negotiations were led by Giovanni Manna, there were conversations with Scott McTominay, and a short exchange with Antonio Conte sealed the move. “It was a quite short conversation,” he remembers. “But a very, very good one.”

On Conte he says, “I think he’s an incredible coach,” and “When he calls you, you just have to say yes.” In fewer than 1,000 minutes of Serie A action Højlund has already bettered his final Premier League season tally, scoring within 15 minutes of his debut after a switch to a 3-4-3 system.

On Romelu Lukaku he is effusive. “Rom is a fantastic guy,” he says. “I didn’t really know him from before,” he admits, “I’ve had a couple of chats with him, like on the pitch, and I’ve actually got a Romelu shirt at home. He’s a bit of an idol for me, because I’ve always looked up to him, actually.” With Lukaku returning from a serious hamstring injury, Højlund accepts there will be competition: “obviously, I want to play,” he says, and is quick to add, “I want to learn from him as well because I feel like he can give me so much,” and “because he’s always been scoring goals, and he’s great at linking the play and these sort of things. I think he has a lot he can give out as well.”