Rasmus Hojlund

RASMUS HOJLUND pointed to the Champions League badge on his Napoli shirt before winning man of the match in Europe’s elite competition.

While the current Manchester United squad watched from their Cheshire sofas, Hojlund and two other Man Utd cast-offs collected individual awards on Wednesday night.

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United failed to qualify for Europe after losing last season’s Europa League final to Tottenham – but several of their former players proved the doubters wrong this week.

The Red Devils have endured another dismal start, with the club 14th in the Prem after six matches, following three defeats, two wins and a draw.

Hojlund, who was dropped from Ruben Amorim‘s squad after the arrival of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig at the start of the season, continued his impressive start to loan life in Naples.

The Denmark striker‘s two goals secured a 2-1 win over Amorim’s former side Sporting Lisbon at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Hojlund, who joined United for £72m, opened the scoring in the 36th minute after racing onto a through ball from Kevin De Bruyne before calmly slotting home.

After Sporting equalised in the second half from the penalty spot, De Bruyne’s cross again assisted Hojlund’s header to restore Napoli‘s lead.

Ex-City rival De Bruyne praised Hojlund by offering a comparison to his former team-mate Erling Haaland, who is arguably considered the best striker in the world.

De Bruyne, 34, said: “We deserved the win today. I was trying to get into that space for the first goal and was waiting for the right moment to pass it to Rasmus.

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“Luckily he did the rest. I think Rasmus is growing a lot and is very similar to Haaland. I think they are very similar because they both like to attack the depth.

“Maybe Hojlund comes to play the ball towards us more, but he needs to attack the space a lot because he can score and give us a big hand.”

Hojlund has now scored three in his first five matches for Antonio Conte’s side since signing an initial loan, which carries an obligation to buy for £38million.

The 22-year-old, who would often become emotional after scoring for United, said: “It was the night you dream of, playing in the Champions League.

“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.”

Hojlund wasn’t the only United reject to shine on Wednesday night.

Anthony Elanga and former loanee Marcel Sabitzer also scooped player of the match awards.

Elanga has continued his rise since leaving Old Trafford for Nottingham Forest for £15m in 2023, with the winger earning a £55m move to Newcastle.

The Carrington graduate played a key role in the Toon’s first two goals in their 4-0 thrashing of Union Saint-Gilloise.

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His cross to Sandro Tonali led to Newcastle‘s first goal with the Italian’s shot flicked in by former United target Nick Woltemade, before he earned a penalty after being brought down by Fedde Leysen.

Marcus Rashford also continued his superb form for loan club Barcelona to take his goal contributions to six in six games.

The England star’s quick thinking low cross assisted Ferran Torres’s opener against holders Paris Saint-Germain in the 19th minute.

Despite PSG fighting back to win 2-1, with Senny Mayulu and Goncalo Ramos scoring for the French side, Rashford was a constant threat before coming off for Robert Lewandowski with 20 minutes to go.

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Sabitzer, who had a short injury-ravaged loan spell at United in 2023, picked up the gong as Borussia Dortmund earned a 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao.

Alejandro Garnacho, who started on Tuesday night, had played a big hand in Chelsea’s only goal of the game in their 1-0 win over Benfica at Stamford Bridge.

Meanwhile, SunSport exclusively revealed that United could consider organising midweek friendlies for their players to get more match-playing time.

The pressure is growing on Amorim ahead of their clash against an in-form Sunderland outfit at Old Trafford on Saturday.

But United are unbeaten in their previous 23 Prem meetings with newly- promoted teams – if that run were to end this weekend, it might prove fatal for Amorim.

Man Utd’s transfer deals

IN

• Bryan Mbeumo – from Brentford – £71m
• Matheus Cunha – from Wolves – £62.5m
• Diego Leon – from Cerro Porteno – £7m
• Benjamin Sesko – from RB Leipzig – £74m
• Senne Lammens – from Royal Antwerp – £18m

TOTAL – £232.5m

OUT

• Alejandro Garnacho – to Chelsea – £40m
• Marcus Rashford – to Barcelona – Loan
• Victor Lindelof – released
• Christian Eriksen – released
• Toby Collyer – to West Brom – Loan

TOTAL – £40m

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MANCHESTER UNITED fans are fearing for one of their big-money signings after his Fiorentina snub.

The Red Devils took on the Italian side at Old Trafford on Saturday.

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The pre-season friendly finished 1-1 after 90 minutes before United won the penalty shootout.

The game came too soon for new arrival Benjamin Sesko.

Sesko, 22, completed his £74million switch from RB Leipzig on the morning of the match.

But even with the striker unavailable, it was bad news for Rasmus Hojlund.

Mason Mount started in a false No9 role in between Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, who were unveiled on the pitch alongside Sesko and Diego Leon.

But even when Mount was subbed off, he was replaced by Manuel Ugarte.

That meant Hojlund, 22, remained an unused sub on the bench as Rubem Amorim overlooked the £72m Danish man.

And United supporters took to social media to react to the fact that the manager ignored his most senior available striker in their last pre-season clash ahead of next weekend’s opener against Arsenal.

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One said: “He’s not subbing Hojlund on – pack your bags buddy.”

Another wrote: “Rip the No9 off him and stick it on Sesko.”

A third added: “Hojlund not even getting sympathy minutes off the bench now, he’s being shipped to bomb squad.”

A fourth commented: “Hojlund didn’t get any minute. Sure he’s leaving aye?”

And a fifth typed: “Has Ruben decided to sell Rasmus Hojlund?”

Hojlund, who arrived from Atalanta in 2023, managed four Premier League goals last season.

But he looks set to play second-fiddle to Sesko if he sticks around at Old Trafford this term.

The luckless forward, though, could leave before the transfer window closed.

United are willing to cut their losses and want around £40m – and could get close to that if a deal can be struck with AC Milan.

MAN UTD PLAYER RATINGS: Bryan Mbeumo eases pressure on Bruno Fernandes but Matheus Cunha lacks sharpness vs Fiorentina

BRYAN MBEUMO showed fans what they’ve been missing as Manchester United beat Fiorentina 5-4 on penalties in their final pre-season friendly.

United were a mixed bag in their final summer warm-up game- and the only one at Old Trafford – before the start of the new season next Sunday.

United unveiled their four new signings but it was Benjamin Sesko – who was announced from RB Leipzig before kick-off – that got the loudest roar from fans.

And this match proved how much they needed him…

Here’s how SunSport’s Man Utd reporter Katherine Walsh rated the players…

The San Siro giants are reportedly keen to take Hojlund on loan with a £35m option to buy him next summer.

But the ex-Copenhagen man insists he is ready to battle for minutes under Amorim this term.

Speaking during the trip to USA, Hojlund said: “The club has told me nothing so far.

“The most important thing for me is just to keep working hard and stay focused and then obviously we’ll see what happens.

“My plan is very clear and that is for me to stay and fight for my spot, whatever happens.

“Last season was a bit rough and I’ve tried to sharpen myself over the course of the holidays.

“It was a tough season on us all. I should have done better, everybody knows.”

MANCHESTER UNITED boss Ruben Amorim admitted he could not guarantee Rasmus Hojlund’s Old Trafford future – despite the Dane’s dazzling display in the Windy City.

Hojlund opened the scoring in the 4-1 trouncing of Bournemouth before creating space for the third – which he claimed but was not awarded – when Amad Diallo fired through a crowd and into the net.

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The £72million man’s goal came as United stepped up their attempts to land RB Leipzig’s Slovenian ace Benjamin Sesko as their new first-choice No9.

And while he was full of praise for Hojlund’s contribution, Old Trafford chief Amorim conceded: “I am really happy with Rasmus, but I don’t know what is going to happen until the end of the market.

“The important thing is that the strikers that are here are working really well, are improving, are helping the team and that is the most important thing.”

Amorim added: “People focus on the goals and we have suffered a lot because of the lack of goals.

“But it’s not just the goals with Rasmus. It’s also about the way he connects the play.

“Every time we have to clear the ball, we are doing so under pressure.

“His ability to hold the defender off and to connect with the support is helping us a lot to play better.

“And we are playing better because he is playing better.”

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United were far too good for the sub-par Cherries, with the excellent Patrick Dorgu storming through to claim the second and teenage substitute Ethan Williams netting the fourth with his first touch.

Bournemouth’s reply was a late own goal by Matthijs de Ligt, who had replaced Harry Maguire at half-time, but Amorim allayed concerns about the England centre-back.

He explained: “He had an issue during the holidays, during training.

“Harry’s come a little bit late, so we have to be careful with him. It’s just a little bit of fatigue with the training.

“We are trying to control everything and saving all the players to give them the exact number of minutes they need.”

Fatigue was also the reason that Brazilian Matheus Cunha was not involved at Soldier Field, but a delighted Amorim said: “It was a good game.

“We played with intensity. We were aggressive and that is something that we needed to improve on from last season.

“Overall, we had better possessions compared to the last game, so they are listening.

“Of course, scoring first in the beginning of the game can change the confidence of the team. It was a good test, a good day.

“It was just a pre-season game. But if you look at us, at the same players from last year, it looks like a different team and that is a good sign.”

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