United agree £38m summer deal as sporting director makes stunning announcement – report

Manchester United have agreed their first major deal of the summer, as per the latest reports. Rasmus Hojlund, who joined Napoli on loan last summer, is all set to stay at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after agreeing a new long-term deal with the Italian giants. The defending Serie A champions had the option of turning the Dane’s loan move permanent in case they qualified for the Champions League. According to The Daily Mirror, Gli Azzurri have confirmed their intention of keeping the United misfit, with the Red Devils set to earn £38 million from the sale. Rasmus Hojlund to stay at Napoli Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna was quoted as saying: “There are no doubts. Rasmus will stay here. “We have an obligation to buy from Manchester United, in case of Champions League access, but he is in our plans regardless of this condition.” While a few former United players feel it would be a loss for the 20-time English league champions to lose the Denmark international, the harsh truth is that he was simply not ready for the step up in quality. Signed from Atalanta for a mammoth £76 million in 2023, the 23-year-old struggled massively during his two-year spell at Old Trafford. Rasmus Hojlund not good enough for United In his debut campaign, the centre-forward netted 16 times across all competitions before imploding in his sophomore season in the English top flight. A mere 10 goals, including only four in the Premier League, and consistent below-par displays meant United had no choice but to cut him loose. Ideally, he should have been the backup striker or at least had support in the form of an experienced head alongside him, and the Old Trafford side failed him in that regard. But Benjamin Sesko has proved himself in a short span of time, which makes it even more apparent what a mistake it was for the club to sign the former FC Copenhagen ace. For Napoli, Rasmus Hojlund has scored 14 goals in all competitions, with the club in second, behind Inter Milan. His sale will help United massively as they look to spend big in the summer after qualifying for the Champions League. Feature image Francesco Pecoraro via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25