Man Utd’s First Sale of 2026 Confirmed by Club Chief

Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has confirmed that the permanent signing of Manchester United loanee Rasmus Højlund is merely a “formality”.

Following the restructuring of United’s forward line last summer, Højlund was forced out of the exit door and ended up making a temporary season-long move to Serie A champions Napoli. The 22-year-old was seeking to reinvigorate his career on his return to Italy and he’s certainly achieved that ambition.

The Denmark international has scored nine times across all competitions for Antonio Conte’s side and has even clinched his first piece of silverware for the club in the form of the 2025–26 Supercoppa Italiana.

After the Supercoppa final victory over Bologona, Højlund took to social media to taunt his parent club, posting a picture of himself with the trophy alongside the caption: “What a great decision looks like.”

Napoli have certainly been impressed with his contributions and club chief Manna has revealed that the striker’s loan move is destined to become permanent come the end of the season.

Asked by Corriere dello Sport if Højlund’s permanent move to Napoli 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.”

Despite joining United for an initial fee of £64 million ($86 million) from Atalanta in 2023, Napoli are expected to sign the forward for just £38 million. The transfer will go down as another major blunder for the Red Devils during an era characterised by dismal recruitment at Old Trafford.

Højlund found himself under intense scrutiny following two mediocre seasons at Old Trafford. He followed up a 16-goal debut campaign with just 10 strikes last term, struggling under Ruben Amorim alongside fellow forward Joshua Zirkzee, but the Napoli loanee has rebuffed suggestions that he underperformed in Manchester.

Speaking with Sports Illustrated, Højlund 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.”

United turned to RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Šeško as their next No. 9 project last summer and the Slovenian has endured a stuttering start to his career in English football. Just two goals in 16 matches for the club is hardly an eye-catching tally and he appears set to fall short of Højlund’s opening season numbers.

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