Napoli set demand for Rasmus Hojlund

Rasmus Hojlund struggled in his time at Manchester United, scoring just 26 goals in 95 appearances.

The Danish forward was signed by the club in 2023 in a £72m deal with Atalanta. It’s a piece of business that goes down as one of the poorest in modern times for the Red Devils.

This summer, Hojlund finally made his permanent getaway, transferring to Napoli after a solid 2025/26 season on loan at the Serie A side.

Ahead of the new season in Italy, which gets underway for Rasmus Hojlund and Napoli on Saturday night against Genoa, the 23-year-old has already been set his first demand.

Rasmus Hojlund scored 16 goals in 44 games on loan at Napoli in the 2025/26 campaign, leading the Italian outfit to trigger their option to buy worth €44 million (£38.4m).

Head coach Massimiliano Allegri wants the former Manchester United forward to improve upon that this season and score 20 goals, according to La Gazetta dello Sport.

Rasmus Hojlund represents the Italian club’s most significant financial outlay, the outlet reports, leading Allegri to setting this target.

It’s clear the 59-year-old boss wants the club to make the most out of their new signing – and Hojlund has all the ability to reach the 20 goal figure.

While Inter Milan are the favourites to win the Scudetto in the 2026/27 season, Napoli will be hoping to be in with a shout.

The side led by new striker Hojlund are being tipped by many to make the UEFA Champions League spots, but will be setting their sights on taking back the title that was theirs in 2025.

It’s clear the 23-year-old is a player well-suited to the pace of Serie A rather than the Premier League. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and it certainly didn’t for Rasmus Hojlund at Manchester United, a chapter both parties will hope to put in the past.