Rasmus Hojlund has put itself offside at Manchester United after the arrival of Benjamin Sesko, but a return to the Serie A is now on the cards thanks to an injury
Napoli is forced to reconsider a movement for Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund in the summer transfer window after Romelu Lukaku sustained an injury.
Lukaku is the most important option of Antonio Conte in Center-Forward, but he will not be available for about three months after collecting a thigh injury. The Belgian striker was injured last week in a pre-season-friendly against Olympiakos and Napoli has now confirmed the size of the problem.
The defensive Serie A champions could be without Lukaku until November and are therefore used to the transfer market. Hojlund was considered earlier in the summer before Conte chose to sign Lorenzo Lucca van Udinese instead for a loan agreement with an obligation to buy.
Lucca costs € 35 million (£ 30 million)-a compensation that provided him with Hojlund and ex-Livepool striker Darwin Nunez. But Sky Sports Italy says that Hojlund is back on the radar in Napoli after the Lukaku hit.
De Dane is ready to leave Old Trafford this summer after Ruben Amorim had left him out of the team for their opening game of the season against Arsenal on Sunday. The arrival of Benjamin Sesko in a £ 74 million from RB Leipzig has degraded Hojlund by the pecking order and United is ready to punish his exit.
They signed him for £ 72 million from Atalanta two years ago, they are now ready to sell for less than half of that price. Hojlund has a good reputation in Italy thanks to his enchantment at Atalanta and AC Milan also consider a move.
However, Milan is supposed to prefer Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic, who is also on the shortlist in Napoli, together with Lecce's Nikola Krstovic, Breel Embolo from Monaco and Sassuolo's Andrea Pinamonti.
In the meantime, Hojlund could also compete with his united teammate, with Corriere Dello Sport who says that Joshua Zirkzee is another option for Napoli with Jean-Philippe Mateta from Crystal Palace and Roma's Artem Dovbyk.
Hojlund is under contract with United until June 2028, while the club also has the option to extend his stay with another year. He struggled to make an impact last season and only scored 10 goals in 52 games and Amorim is ready to continue, with his record of 26 strikes in 95 games not at all convincing.
There are fewer than two weeks in the transfer window, but Milan sports director Igli Tare has confirmed their interest. “Hojlund is a good option for us,” he said. “We think of him, but in the transfer market you never know what could happen.”
United also tries to discharge Jadon Sancho to Roma and Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea, but are frustrated by the difficulty. They only succeeded in sending Marcus Rashford on loan to Barcelona and need more outputs before they can move for a midfielder or goalkeeper.