Rasmus Hojlund has explained his celebration from Wednesday night which some considered a dig at Manchester United.
Manchester United loanee Rasmus Hojlund scored twice for Napoli against Sporting CP as the Italian giants secured a 2-1 win in the Champions League on Wednesday night against their Portuguese counterparts.
Hojlund has now scored three goals in five games for Napoli following his summer move. Napoli agreed a deal to sign the Danish centre-forward on an initial loan deal with the option to buy. The option to buy becomes mandatory if Napoli qualify for the Champions League.
United would pocket a total fee of roughly £43 million should Napoli trigger the option to buy clause, and that’s including the initial loan fee they paid to United this summer.
Hojlund was adamant he wanted to stay at United, but following the arrival of Benjamin Šeško, it was made clear to the Dane that he had no future at the club.
Hojlund explains celebration
After scoring his first goal against Sporting, Hojlund pointed to the Champions League badge on his sleeve and then pointed to the Napoli badge.
Some felt that pointing at the Champions League badge was a possible dig at Manchester United as the Red Devils failed to qualify for any sort of European football this season, but Hojlund addressed his celebration in a post-match interview.
“I celebrated touching the Napoli badge because I’m happy to play here, and the Champions League badge because I love to score in Europe,” the striker explained.
Both of Hojlund’s goals were assisted by former Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne and the duo seem to be forming a good connection on the pitch.
“I don’t like to talk about my performance, but about the team. Playing with an exceptional talent like Kevin De Bruyne is special.
“I played with a lot of incredible players in Manchester United as well, but Kevin is an exceptional talent. He’s won so much and he is a legend of the game. For me, it is just about finding the spaces and he’ll put the ball in the space, just for me to run into it,” Hojlund added.
United once again the problem?
Hojlund arrived at Manchester United as one of the brightest centre-forward prospects in Europe, but he looked like a shadow of his former self towards the end of his time at Old Trafford.
He scored 16 times in his first season and looked promising, but failed to build on that in his second season which in the end led to his departure.
Hojlund is still young and inexperienced, so tasking him with leading the line at United at that stage of his development was always a big ask, especially during such a turbulent period for the club.
Hojlund would’ve benefited from having a more experienced striker in the squad to take some of the pressure off his shoulders, but United never moved to sign such a player.
Ultimately, he is still a top talent. He will likely develop into a top player and go on to have a brilliant career, but unfortunately that will almost certainly not be at Manchester United
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