Schmeichel: Manchester United wasted Napoli talent Hojlund and McTominay

Peter Schmeichel believes Napoli can revitalise Rasmus Hojlund the same way they did Scott McTominay. ‘He’d be a 25-goal striker for Manchester United, but he needs service.’

The former Atalanta centre-forward has followed in the footsteps of Scotland international McTominay in making the move from Old Trafford to the Stadio Diego Maradona and finding a fresh lease of life.

According to Manchester United legend Schmeichel, this is both a sign of how well Napoli have built their team, and a damning indictment of the way both players were treated in England.

“The signing of Benjamin Sesko was a little bit weird to me because we have Rasmus Hojlund, who has been starved of service for two years,” Schmeichel said on BBC podcast Sacked in the Morning.

“You only have to see what he’s doing at Napoli with Kevin de Bruyne and Scott McTominay to play with – he’s scoring goals.

“I’ve consistently said this for two-and-a-half years – Rasmus Hojlund will be a 25-goal-a-year striker for Manchester United, but he needs service.

“We let him go on the stats that he scored very little goals last season and bring Sesko in at the time we bring in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo, who would give Hojlund first-class service.”

McTominay went from forgotten man at Manchester United to Serie A MVP in his debut season, helping Napoli win the Scudetto with 13 goals and six assists.

Part of that is allowing the Scottish midfielder to flourish in his natural position, where he is allowed to bomb forward as well as help protect the defence.

“What’s he doing at Napoli? He is so Manchester United,” continued an incredulous Schmeichel.

“The problem was his versatility, because you have players who can only play in one position. Managers didn’t trust him to build the team around. They want the neat players. He was the victim of that time and again.

“Phil Neville was a little bit the same. He never really got a starting XI spot, but he played an awful lot of games because he could play different roles.

“I don’t get why those two are at Napoli. You will get no-one with more enthusiasm for Manchester United than Rasmus Hojlund. He was writing about playing for the club when he was 10 years old. He’s a massive fan.

“And the fans love him because he was working so hard for the team and he never complained.”

So far this season, Hojlund has contributed four goals in six games for Napoli between Serie A and the Champions League.