Man Utd set price tag for Rasmus Hojlund after top club make transfer approach | Football

Napoli have made an initial approach for Rasmus Hojlund and Manchester United have responded by slapping a £50million price tag on the striker.

Hojlund, 22, has endured a difficult second season with the Red Devils, managing just three league goals while failing to register a single assist in his 24 appearances in the English top flight.

The Denmark international went 21 games without hitting the target across any competitions, a desperate run stretching back to mid-December, before he finally netted in United’s 3-0 win at Leicester last weekend.

Questions and speculation over Hojlund’s future at the Theatre of Dreams intensified further still when United’s co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, publicly questioned the £64m sum the club forked out to sign the youngster earlier this month.

‘If you look at the players we are buying, that we didn’t buy, we’re buying Antony, we’re buying Casemiro, we’re buying [Andre] Onana, we’re buying Hojlund, we’re buying [Jadon] Sancho,’ Ratcliffe told BBC Sport.

‘These are all things from the past, whether we like it or not, we’ve inherited those things and have to sort that out.’

The likes of Rio Ferdinand and Gary Neville have also been outspoken with their criticism of Hojlund during his recent struggles and it’s understood the Dane has effectively been put ‘on trial’ until the end of the season.

According to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Hojlund could be set to return to Serie A in the summer, just two years on from his high-profile transfer to United from Atalanta.

It’s claimed Napoli are ‘desperately looking for goals’ to support Romelu Lukaku up front and Hojlund is firmly in their sights, as well as Udinese centre-forward Lorenzo Lucca.

Napoli have all but confirmed qualification for next season’s Champions League and club bosses recognise that Antonio Conte needs help building a squad capable of competing in Europe’s premier competition.

Strengthening Conte’s attacking options has been identified as the priority in Naples following Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s departure for Paris Saint-Germain in January. Victor Osimhen, currently on loan at Galatasaray, is expected to follow the Georgian out the exit door at the end of the season.

The report suggests United would be open to selling Hojlund to help balance the books and the Old Trafford giants have set an asking price of €60m (£50m) for the goal-shy forward.

Napoli do not have the funds to be able to compete at this price range but talks are in their initial stages and the Serie A outfit will attempt to drive this sum down over the coming months.

Lucca, Udinese’s top goalscorer this season, represents a far cheaper option for Napoli, with the 24-year-old Italy international said to be available for a fee of between €35-40m (£29-33.5m).

Hojlund will hope to return from the international break with a renewed sense of vigour and Amorim backed the forward to do just that after he finally ended his goal drought against Leicester.

‘It is a difficult goal, a difficult control with the right foot, so it’s a shame we are going to stop for the national teams,’ the United head coach told reporters.

‘But he will return with confidence. It’s also just one win away and we have to continue when we return.

‘His goal was really good, really good control, with his right foot and then [Alejandro] Garnacho, he is also always trying to score a goal. He deserved that feeling.’

Hojlund’s current contract with United, which he signed upon arrival from Atalanta, runs through to 2028.

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