Rasmus Hojlund made his debut for Napoli on Saturday and took just 14 minutes to score his first league goal, a far cry from the 1,027 minutes it took to bag his first in the Premier League
Manchester United fans have been left feeling that the club is ‘cursed’ after Rasmus Hojlund took less than a quarter of an hour to score on his debut for Napoli. Hojlund, 22, joined the Italian champions on a season-long loan in the final knockings of the summer transfer window, having been pushed down the pecking order at Old Trafford.
The Danish striker wasn’t included in any of Ruben Amorim’s squads for the four matches before his departure on deadline day, with new signing Benjamin Sesko preferred. United agreed a fee of up to £73.7million for Slovenia international Sesko and Amorim was happy to have him and Joshua Zirkzee as his options up front.
Napoli needed a replacement for ex-Red Devils striker Romelu Lukaku, who suffered a thigh injury in pre-season and is set to spend the next two to three months on the sidelines. The Serie A title winners have paid a £5m loan fee and will be obligated to sign Hojlund permanently if they qualify for the Champions League, with a £38m deal already in place.
The United loanee previously played in Italy for Atalanta, where he convinced the Red Devils to fork out an initial £64m for his signature two years ago. Hojlund bagged his first goal of the season as a substitute in Denmark’s 3-0 victory over Greece during the international break.
He took his shooting boots back to Napoli and netted with just 14 minutes on the clock in Saturday’s trip to Fiorentina, making it 2-0. Antonio Conte’s side ran out 3-1 winners, with former Manchester City star Kevin De Bruyne also getting on the scoresheet.
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Although he’d scored in Champions League games, United fans had to wait a painstaking 1,027 minutes for Hojlund to finally notch his first Premier League goal on Boxing Day 2023. So it was no surprise that the Old Trafford faithful reacted strongly to the Denmark international’s early goal for Napoli.
“Debut goal, Utd are cursed,” one fan said. A second lamented: “Hojlund scores on his debut? Wow we’re cursed.” A third bemoaned: “We’re really cursed.” Another asked: “So the problem is Manchester United?”
Should Manchester United have loaned out Rasmus Hojlund? Have your say in the comments section.
Post-match, Conte hailed his new striker, joking that Napoli signed Hojlund because Scott McTominay was a success after coming from Old Trafford last season. “Hojlund is only 22 years old, we got him from Manchester United, seeing as it brought us luck doing that with McTominay,” the Napoli boss told Sky Sport Italia.
“We knew his qualities; he has great potential and can improve. You can see he’s a lad with great prospects.”
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Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle ahead of the 2025/26 season, saving members £192 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games next season, an increase of up to 100 more.
