While Manchester United have struggled to win games, some of Ruben Amorim’s recently sanctioned exits are finding joy at their new clubs.
Wednesday evening saw two of Manchester United’s loan players shine for their current clubs once again in the Champions League.
Although Barcelona fell to a 2-1 defeat at home against Paris St. Germain, Marcus Rashford was a light once again for the Catalan side, registering his sixth goal involvement in six games as he assisted Ferran Torres.
In Italy, Rasmus Højlund played an even more crucial role as Napoli secured their route past Rúben Amorim’s former club, Sporting CP, with a 2-1 win.
The Danish striker scored Napoli’s opening goal in the first half before Sporting levelled through a penalty in the 62nd minute. Højlund then secured his team the win through a header with ten minutes left to play.
De Bruyne sees plenty of potential in Højlund
When United signed Højlund for around £72 million back in 2023, there were instant comparisons to Manchester City’s Erling Haaland due to their similar height, speed, and finishing power. However, Højlund suffered goalscoring issues for United and was moved on in August.
Many have since explained that they feel the root of Højlund’s issues is that he spends far too much time wrestling with opposition centre-backs rather than trying to run through them, and Napoli’s Kevin de Bruyne believes this is a move he should make to improve his game.
De Bruyne is no stranger to Haaland, having spent three seasons with him at City. Speaking after Napoli’s Champions League win, the Belgian explained that if his new teammate starts to attack spaces ahead of him more often, unlike what he did at United, he can score plenty of goals.
“I was trying to get into that space for the first goal and was waiting for the right moment to pass it to Rasmus, luckily he did the rest,” De Bruyne said via Corriere dello Sport.
“I think Rasmus is growing a lot and is very similar to Haaland. I think they are very similar because they both like to attack the depth. Maybe Højlund comes to play the ball towards us more, but I think he needs to attack the space a lot because he can score and give us a big hand.”
Højlund will sign with Napoli next summer
Although Højlund is only on loan from United to Napoli this summer, all indications are that he will remain in Naples once the 2026 summer transfer window opens.
United and Napoli agreed that, should the Serie A side qualify for the Champions League next season, they will pay Amorim’s club a fee of around £38 million for the striker. Even if they don’t, the option for them to do so remains, but they would not be obligated to.
They also paid United a loan fee of around £5 million to have the Dane on their books for the 2025/26 season and have taken up paying his entire wage package, saving United further funding.
Even if Højlund’s move to Napoli turns out to be a striking success, it was still the right decision for all parties involved to allow the Dane to move on from his dream position at Old Trafford.
United now have fantastic striker talent Benjamin Šeško at the club and are reportedly looking to sign an experienced forward next summer. At the same time, Højlund gets the time and space to rebuild his career after a hard few years in Manchester.
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