Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has sent a three-word message to Rasmus Højlund after he had a dream debut on loan at Napoli.
After a challenging campaign, many assumed Rasmus Højlund would stay at Manchester United as backup to a new striker. However, Ruben Amorim seemed to prefer Joshua Zirkzee for that role.
With Benjamin Šeško’s arrival nearing completion and Matheus Cunha establishing himself as the first-choice centre forward, Højlund gradually fell out of the starting lineup. In United’s final pre-season fixture against Fiorentina, the Dane was named on the bench but didn’t get any minutes on the pitch.
He remained at Old Trafford for a short while longer, but on Deadline Day sealed a loan move to Napoli, with an option to buy included; a clause that could make the transfer permanent if certain conditions are met.
Although many observers, including some inside United, felt he had been treated harshly, the former Atalanta striker now has the chance to revive his career back in Serie A.
Maguire sends three-word message to Højlund
Højlund got off to a dream start at Napoli on the weekend as he scored just 14 minutes into his debut in a 3-1 win over Fiorentina.
The Danish striker was played through on ball in the left channel and finished well against ex-United goalkeeper David de Gea.
After he had to wait several months for his first Premier League goal at United, Højlund will be delighted to have scored already for Napoli and he reacted on social media after the game.
The United loanee posted on Instagram: “First day at the new job didn’t disappoint.”
United defender Harry Maguire liked the post and replied to Højlund with the message, “Love it mate 🔥👏”. Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo also liked the post.
Maguire will know all about the difficulties Højlund suffered during his time at Old Trafford and would have likely been one of the players trying to give him advice through those times.
Højlund succeeding at Napoli is no surprise
Højlund scoring on his debut for Napoli was not a surprise, and it felt like every United fan has been predicting him to do well back in Italy.
But that does not change the fact that a move was probably best for all parties involved. The 22-year-old looked like he needed to restart elsewhere. It is hard to forget just how poor he has been over the last year.
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His confidence was shot and it would’ve been difficult for that to come back at Old Trafford, especially if he was on the bench most weeks.
Perhaps a different decision would have been made if United were in Europe this season and there were enough games to go around, but in the end it seemed like the right decision, even if he does succeed in Naples.
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