Napoli Close To Sealing Højlund Deal As Sesko Struggles And Neville Slams United’s Form

‎Napoli sporting director, Giovanni Manna, has described Rasmus Højlund’s move from Manchester United as a mere formality. 

‎Højlund joined on loan last summer and has hit nine goals in 20 appearances, including a double in Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Cremonese. Napoli sit third in Serie A, securing one of Italy’s four Champions League spots.

‎“We did everything we could to sign him,” Manna told the Corriere dello Sport.

‎“There were more storied clubs interested, but his will was crucial, and we are proud of it. 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.”

‎Asked if Højlund’s permanent Napoli transfer was just a “formality,” Manna replied: “As of today, I think so.”

‎Højlund arrived at United from Atalanta in August 2023 for £64m, with up to £8m in add-ons. The 22-year-old has scored 14 goals in 62 Premier League appearances. Napoli are believed to be ready to pay about £38m to sign him.

‎Replacing Højlund at United is Benjamin Sesko, who has struggled to settle in the Premier League, scoring only twice since his move from RB Leipzig in a deal worth up to £73.7m.

‎United finished 2025 in sixth place after a disappointing performance, which their former captain, Gary Neville, described as “the baddest of the bad”, in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw against Wolves.

‎“They weren’t just booed off at full time,” Neville said on his Sky Sports podcast. “The fans waited in the stadium to continue to boo them. They’ve gone backwards.”

‎Joshua Zirkzee scored just his second goal of the season to put United in front but was substituted at half-time in a move that Ruben Amorim described as “just tactical”.

‎On the manager’s substitutions, Neville added, “They made Manchester United worse. Every single substitution was bizarre. If Zirkzee wasn’t injured and that was a tactical substitution, it was a really poor one.

‎”Zirkzee isn’t Eric Cantona, by any stretch of the imagination, but he needed to be out there for physicality, for presence, for experience.”