Manchester United’s Loss: Hojlund’s £66.8m Value in Naples

Manchester United thought they were cutting their losses. Instead, they may have given away a £110million striker.

Rasmus Hojlund’s permanent switch to Napoli this summer looked, on the face of it, like a clean break for all involved. A £43.2m fee banked, an underperforming forward moved on, and a fresh start for a player who never quite settled at Old Trafford.

Now the numbers say United sold him at a bargain-bin price.

From Old Trafford burden to Naples bargain

When Hojlund arrived from Atalanta in 2023 for a deal worth up to £72m, United sold the dream of a long-term No.9. He was 20, raw, explosive, and expensive. The expectation was immediate impact.

He only delivered it in flashes.

Ten Premier League goals in 30 games during his first campaign hinted at something to build on. The movement was there, the aggression too. United fans could just about see the outline of the striker they thought they’d bought.

Then came 2024/25.

As United collapsed to a 15th-place finish, Hojlund’s form fell with them. Four league goals in 32 appearances told its own story. Joshua Zirkzee, his strike partner, managed only two in 24. United’s attack looked blunt, confidence drained, and the club’s record of big-money misfires grew longer.

Hojlund wanted to fight for his place. The club chose a different route.

The loan that turned into a heist

United sent him to Napoli for 2025/26 on loan, with an obligation to buy for £43.2m if certain conditions were met. It was a safety net for the Italians, a way out for United if he flopped again.

He didn’t.

In Serie A, Hojlund finally looked like the player United thought they were signing. Twelve league goals and six assists later, Napoli happily triggered the obligation and completed the permanent deal. For them, it was smart, structured business. For United, at the time, it looked like a decent exit fee for a player whose stock had dipped.

Then CIES Football Observatory weighed in.

According to their latest data, Hojlund’s current fair value sits at around £110m. Their model factors in the financial strength of potential buyers, a 7.5% range either side of the central figure, 100% of economic rights including add-ons, and inflation across the last two transfer windows. Buy-out clauses are ignored.

On that basis, United could theoretically have demanded £66.8m more than they will ultimately receive.

A striker reborn – and a question for United

The irony is stark. A player who struggled so badly in England now looks underpriced on the back of a single outstanding Serie A season. At 23, Hojlund still has time to grow, refine his finishing, and attract exactly the kind of heavyweight interest United once expected to field.

If he keeps scoring at this rate in Italy, those “what if” conversations at Old Trafford will only get louder. The profile is still there: young, powerful, mobile, with a scoring record in a major European league. The sort of forward Europe’s elite routinely pay nine figures for.

United, meanwhile, are staring at a familiar problem.

They were beaten 2-0 by newly-promoted Hull City at the weekend, barely laying a glove on their hosts. The performance underlined what the table and the eye test have been screaming for months: this squad badly needs a reliable centre-forward.

Some of the Hojlund money could be recycled into that search before next month’s transfer deadline. INEOS are understood to be prioritising a central midfielder and a left-back, but that defeat at Hull will sting. The lack of threat up front is impossible to ignore.

So United find themselves in a familiar position: chasing a striker in a market where prices are spiralling, having just waved goodbye to one who now carries a nine-figure valuation.

If Hojlund keeps rising in Naples, how long before Old Trafford starts to wonder whether they gave up on him – and on their own recruitment plan – far too soon?