Rasmus Højlund moved from Manchester United to Napoli on loan in the summer and he will likely move there permanently, although that is not guaranteed.
Following his loan move to the Italian champions in the summer, Rasmus Højland started life off in Naples with a bang, bagging on his Serie A debut against Fiorentina in a 1-3 away victory.
Although, since scoring on his debut for the club, much like his time at Manchester United, Højland has struggled to maintain consistency during his time in Naples, with the Dane only scoring five times in the league since his debut in September.
The strikers’ form, however, has equally not been helped by the inconsistency of Antonio Conte’s team throughout the campaign so far, with Napoli currently sitting nine points off the top following a crushing 3-0 defeat to Juventus on the weekend, with the Old Lady now only one point behind Napoli.
However, United fans should be more concerned with Napoli’s current league position more than they realise, as it ultimately could be the deciding factor on the future of Højland.
The crucial contract clause
Despite the Dane’s loan contract containing a £40m obligation to buy at the end of the season, this is only under the condition that Napoli finish the season inside of the Serie A top four.
Now, although we are only just past the halfway point of the league season, there is still plenty of time for Napoli to regain form and cement themselves inside of the league’s UCL qualification slots, but there is also still potential for the opposite to materialise.
After securing what could be seen as a successfully negotiated price for Højland, given his previous form for United, potentially losing out on this deal could end up causing potential damage to United’s summer transfer window plans.
They would then have to re-negotiate a lower priced deal for the striker, which could become time consuming in a summer where United will have to move quickly to secure targets following the World Cup.
However, United fans may be able to seek some comfort in previous quotes coming from Napoli’s sporting director around the future of Højland if the worst case scenario were to occur.
Napoli’s Sporting Director confident over future of Højland
Despite the potential threat of not making it into Italy’s top four this season, Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has appeared to remain calm around the situation, seeing Højland’s future in Naples as a ‘formality’.
When speaking to corrieredellosport in December, he had this to say regarding the situation (quotes translated from ESPN):
“We did everything we could to sign him”, Manna told the Italian Newspaper
He also went on to say: There were more storied clubs interested, but his will was crucial, and we are proud of it. The player considers himself a Napoli player, and the same goes for us. This is extremely important.”
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When asked if a permanent transfer to Napoli in the summer was just a formality, Manna responded astutely, saying: “As of today, I think so.”
Although nothing is decided for definite currently, regardless of where Napoli end up finishing at the end of the 25/26 campaign, it appears likely that Højland’s long-term future will remain in Naples come May.
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