Hojlund: ‘When Conte calls, you say yes, and Manchester United made it clear’

Rasmus Hojlund is full of praise for Antonio Conte and Romelu Lukaku , revealing that when Manchester United ‘made it quite clear I wasn’t part of their plans,’ then he only wanted Napoli .

The striker had been a huge investment for Manchester United , who spent nearly €80m to pick him up from Atalanta in the summer of 2023.

Just two years into his Old Trafford experience , he returned to Serie A for Napoli , although is at pains to make clear it wasn’t his choice to walk away.

CREMONA, ITALY – DECEMBER 28: Rasmus Hojlund of SSC Napoli celebrates after scoring the 0-1 goal during the Serie A match between US Cremonese and SSC Napoli at Stadio Giovanni Zini on December 28, 2025 in Cremona, Italy. (Photo by Marco M. Mantovani/Getty Images)

“United made it quite clear for me that I wasn’t part of the plans for this year coming into the season, and with no European football and that sort of things,” Hojlund told Sports Illustrated.

“I’m young, I have to play football, and for that reason, I think this was also a good opportunity for me.”

The 22-year-old was snapped up on loan for €6m with an option to buy for a further €44m, becoming an obligation if they qualify for the Champions League.

“Napoli saw an opportunity to go and get me and as soon as I heard the interest from them, I made it quite obvious for my camp and for the people around that I only wanted to go there.”

UDINE, ITALY – DECEMBER 14: Rasmus Hojlund of Napoli looks on during the warm up ahead of the Serie A match between Udinese Calcio and SSC Napoli at Stadio Friuli on December 14, 2025 in Udine, Italy. (Photo by Timothy Rogers/Getty Images)

Hojlund was even more determined to make the move to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona after speaking directly with coach Conte.

“It was a quite short conversation, but a very, very good one,” confessed the striker.

“I think he’s an incredible coach. I’ve only seen him do good things almost everywhere he’s been so obviously that was a big part of it. When he calls you, you just have to say yes.”

Conte has been explaining lately precisely how he has improved Hojlund’s game , and the results are showing with seven goals and three assists in 19 competitive matches.

The Dane was signed by Napoli as an emergency replacement for Romelu Lukaku , who was ruled out for four months when suffering a serious injury during a pre-season friendly.

NAPLES, ITALY – DECEMBER 07: Rasmus Hojlund of SSC Napoli celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between SSC Napoli and Juventus FC at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on December 07, 2025 in Naples, Italy. (Photo by Francesco Pecoraro/Getty Images)

However, the opportunity to potentially play alongside the Belgian was also a big draw for Hojlund.

“Rom is a fantastic guy. I didn’t really know him from before,” he admits, “I’ve had a couple of chats with him, like on the pitch, and I’ve actually got a Romelu shirt at home. He’s a bit of an idol for me, because I’ve always looked up to him, actually.

“I want to learn from him as well because I feel like he can give me so much, because he’s always been scoring goals, and he’s great at linking the play and these sort of things. I think he has a lot he can give out as well.”