Especially for Rasmus tbh. With Lukaku as his mentor and a proven manager who believes in him and adapts his tactics to him, Napoli seems to be fertile soil for him to grow into the player he was showing the potential to be.
Yes, for some reason those high flying long balls have become the united way and I don't know why. It's not even an Amorim, it's been like that with almost every manager post Ferguson
I knew he’d tear that league up because the league is shite and it’s built for him but still would have liked him to go develop OR get a higher permanent fee.
I knew he’d tear that league up because the league is shite
Why do you guys underestimate Serie A all the time. The Prem superiority in here is hilarious
They do well against English teams all the time. Roma beat Brighton in the Europa League two ago and Inter beat Arsenal in the CL with their 2nd team two years ago. Two Italian teams are currently 5th and 6th in the CL
Yeah, but you just know if they miss out on CL they'll refuse to pay the full amount. It'll be £38m if they make the CL and if they don't we'll get two months of back and forth, will they won't they, nonsense and then they'll get him for £28m.
That's just lawyers trying to avoid calling the provision what it really was. Chelsea had the option to pay a loan fee rather than exercise an option to buy Sancho.
It isn't an obligation if you can pay a small fee to avoid it.
Well, none of us knew at the time of the loan, wr all thought he was gone for good after the season. It was always talked about as an obligation, because that's what it was. We were just dumb enough to include a abort fee for Chelsea.
Let's just hope we've learnt and never do that again.
It would've worked if we were more patient. Instead the board decided to back worst United manager in 50 years, sold him and bought Sesko who isn't even as good as Rasmus.
Comparing first season rasmus. Who managed to score 16 in a season with limited service. His goal per shot is above anything sesko has ever produced. Hojlund is undoubtedly the better finisher
Scored more goals in his first season, I think seskos overall game is better and has a much higher sealing but we’re forgetting Rasmus had 16 goals his first season, seskos on track to get 4 the way he’s going
Edit: I apologise for my atrocious spelling *ceiling
The season isn't over so we can't make that conclusion. Also because United isn't in Europe it's only fair we compare their domestic campaign numbers.
At this point in the season in Rasmus' first season he had 1 goal in the Premier League, Sesko has 2 goals and 1 assist. Both have 0 goals in the cup. Rasmus also played more games and more minutes in those games as compared to Sesko at this point in the season.
If I were to project Rasmus' numbers back in Dec 31st like you've done with Sesko, I'd say he'd be on track for 2 goals in the league by the end of the season. The eye test favors Sesko as well, he's just a much better player, so there's nothing that makes Rasmus better than Sesko.
Oh I agree in so far as the eye test and as you say Rasmus had more games in Europe and such.
Keeping it to just the premier league the 10 total goals and 2 assists I don’t think was a bad return for the lad in his first season.
I won’t give sesko the benefit of the doubt for minutes however as we can’t hold it against Højlund for not being injured particularly when there was evidence the lad played through injuries for us at times.
I also think sesko has the benefit of playing with better players (for service) in cunha, mbeumo etc compared to whatever it was garnacho, Antony and even rashford were offering Højlund at times.
I think seskos aerial ability, first touch, passing and link up and even finishing is better by a sizeable margin than hojlunds and his ceiling is higher.
My original comment was a minor defence of the lad as I think Rasmus was thrown to the wolves, originally brought in to be an understudy to a senior player (maybe even Kane) then a huge fee and thrust into the limelight and couldn’t do arguably the most difficult job in football I.e lead the line for man united at a young age.
I think we’re doing the same thing to sesko.
It would not shock me if we absolutely shatter this lads confidence and he becomes a figure of mockery and memes by years end and labelled another “flop” all because we don’t provide consistent service to a striker of any kind and more importantly we don’t create an environment that allows a young striker to thrive.
I pray I’m wrong as I was over the moon when we got him as I always watched his games when I could due to his wunderkid status.
But in the back of my mind I have this sickly feeling we’re gonna fail the lad.
Will always have a soft spot for Rasmus. Didn't work out at Utd, and while he has to take some responsibility for his performances, I really think he had the cards stacked against him from day 1 with how the squad was set up, lack of support for him etc. etc. He should never have been brought in to lead the line on his own, with fuck all backup or even an elder striker to mentor him. Unlike many recent players, he never kicked up a fuss or created a toxic environment, he was a proper pro til the end
Hope he continues to do well in Italy, and he'll always be one of those ex-players I'm keeping an eye on to see how they're doing.
We don't even play a proper down the middle pass for our striker for some weird reason. KDB played such a pass in his first match for Napoli and he scored immediately. I don't understand why all our midfielders only lob the ball to the wings.
How? Zirkzee performed better than what Højlund did last year. It’s not like Højlund would magically perform this season. Especially when Mount, Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko would start over him. Realistically neither Højlund nor Zirkzee was good enough
I think his second season there was a clear issue with him. His energy and fight were gone and he became stagnant. With Cunha and Mbeumo behind him he'd have looked so much better.
It wasn't fair that we didnt have a senior striker to help him
What? Hojlund either ball watches or just literally run behind the ball, at least sesko is smart enough to try and intercept a shitty pass from the opposition or something.
They both suck but at least sesko does something besides not scoring
I don’t know why you’re downvoting me for stating a fact. Sesko half presses..
Yesterday he half pressed Gomes and when Gomes turned he just left him go with the ball under zero pressure. A couple of passes later they got a corner and they scored…
The whole team lacks energy but you press from the front, Sesko doesn’t press with the intention of actually tackling players and winning the ball.
With better finishing Sesko could have 3 goals yesterday to be fair. I don’t remember Hojlund getting as much chances when he was with us.
I’m not trying to make a point here but it makes no sense to compare the two when both have been lacking the most important thing for us which is goals.
Really? He looked pretty hopeless at times and even if he’d stayed and we don’t have Sesko we’d still have the same issues with not being able to crest chances for him.
It's quite mad how players succeeding when they leave is seen as a flaw. United players should come with a premium - we produce players that have played with the most pressure in the world, so when they move they play with greater freedom while still imbued with the advanced athleticism and training playing at the club entails. In any other team, they will be better
Good. We’ll get decent funds to reinvest in the squad, which is very much needed if we do end up qualifying for Europe. Plus Rashford money, Case wages saved, Ugarte, Zirkzee etc.
I'm not writing him off, but I've followed him before we signed him and thought it was an incredible risk to go for him after our experience with Hojlund. So far he hasn't proved me wrong, but no one happier than me if he does succeed in the end.
Good for all parties involved.
Especially for Rasmus tbh. With Lukaku as his mentor and a proven manager who believes in him and adapts his tactics to him, Napoli seems to be fertile soil for him to grow into the player he was showing the potential to be.
Don't forget the perfect tomatoes as well
I agree.
Yeah, I think Napoli in this moment are the perfect team for a young player. Some great experienced players and some really good results.
They're in the spotlight when they win but aren't crushed by the weight of expectation.
I still see it as a failure for us, regardless of the decent fee we're getting for him.
He seems to be alright if he gets fed proper through balls. Same as Sesko. But we can't do those right.
Problem is they have through balls along the floor a lot where as we do high flying long balls which are hard to control
Yes, for some reason those high flying long balls have become the united way and I don't know why. It's not even an Amorim, it's been like that with almost every manager post Ferguson
A big thing is Bruno loves that way of passing. Sometimes he could easily keep it on the floor but just goes for the high ball.
Fellaini effect i must say.
Yeah it’s a financial failure for us regardless.
I knew he’d tear that league up because the league is shite and it’s built for him but still would have liked him to go develop OR get a higher permanent fee.
Why do you guys underestimate Serie A all the time. The Prem superiority in here is hilarious
They do well against English teams all the time. Roma beat Brighton in the Europa League two ago and Inter beat Arsenal in the CL with their 2nd team two years ago. Two Italian teams are currently 5th and 6th in the CL
This “Prem Superiority” comment is the only hilarious thing to me.
The league is a joke. It’s nothing to do with the Prem and everything to do with that specific league. It barely deserves to be a top 5 league.
You'll never guess who has the 2nd highest UEFA association coefficient ranking after the EPL over the last 5 years: Serie A.
You’ll never guess that UEFA coefficient isn’t the true mark to a league 😂
It’s literally assessing the elite
So you're saying the EPL isn't the top league then?
I’m saying UEFA coefficient doesn’t single handedly prove anything.
I can make the argument prem is the best because 1-20 the teams are comparably better than the 1-20 teams in other leagues.
That’s got FUCK ALL to do with coefficient for European competitions
Except you have no factual evidence to prove that which is why people use the co efficient which isn’t great either.
Saying it barely deserves to be a top 5 league tho is genuinely a braindead take lmao
It doesn't single-handedly prove it. Agreed. But it's something and does show 1-6 or 7 in those leagues.
It's also certainly more than what you've provided thus far. 😁
Hardly tearing it up
Exactly but proves my point further
Well, yeah. If they qualify for CL they're required to buy him. It's been known since this summer.
They would buy him even if they don't qualify for CL. They are happy with him. That's what he is trying to say.
Yeah, but you just know if they miss out on CL they'll refuse to pay the full amount. It'll be £38m if they make the CL and if they don't we'll get two months of back and forth, will they won't they, nonsense and then they'll get him for £28m.
They could easily miss out on CL yet. It sounds like hes saying they will use the option to buy him regardless of that
We thought Sancho was a formality too…
So nice to get some sort of confirmation they actually want him.
Sancho backed out from Chelsea deal due to wages. Man is just not caring his career
Where even is Sancho now?
Villa. Chilling out on the 3rd now
Has he played a major role in their squad this year?
No.
13 games, 529 minutes, no goals, no assists.
I just don't think he cares about fotball tbh. It's a job for him.
It's mind boggling that clubs are even willing to take a punt on him any more.
Sub. Used in half their games
Sancho is realistically an exception, not the norm. Expecting any loan to go that way in the future is just outright pessimism.
I would gladly take £18m from Napoli and have a Seria A “proven” striker to sell in the summer.
What has he proven? It's a miracle anyone was willing to pay what they were tbh.
Sancho wasn't a formality. The club had an 'option' to buy him.
Napoli have no choice but to buy Hoj if they qualify for CL.
Chelsea had an obligation, not an option. It was triggered if they finished above 14th.
They finished above 14th. Then they paid a fine instead of paying the obligation.
That's just lawyers trying to avoid calling the provision what it really was. Chelsea had the option to pay a loan fee rather than exercise an option to buy Sancho.
It isn't an obligation if you can pay a small fee to avoid it.
Well, none of us knew at the time of the loan, wr all thought he was gone for good after the season. It was always talked about as an obligation, because that's what it was. We were just dumb enough to include a abort fee for Chelsea.
Let's just hope we've learnt and never do that again.
Yeah, that's fair! It was kinda bewildering to learn after the fact that there wasn't a true obligation.
I don’t think Chelsea was ever keen on taking him without a special provision like this.
Nope, that was just ineos putting some PR work when they called it an obligation
If chelsea had the option to pay a fine to not buy him, then it was never an obligation
That wasn't Ineos' PR work.
It quite literally is an obligation. If chelsea finished 15th, they would have had an option to buy him, or can send him back for free.
But because they finished higher than that, they had to either buy the player or pay an increased loan fee.
It was never mentioned by anybody, no reporter etc. that the obligation still has a way out for them.
Honestly, it worked on me at the time. I thought it was some seriously impressive stuff to get him gone and get decent money for him.
Of course I was not impressed with them a year later.
His form this season seems to have convinced Napoli to make the move permanent regardless of CL qualification.
I am still sad it hasn't worked out here. Happy he's doing good in Italy though. I hope he truly brings home a trophy or two for the team.
He just scored in and won the Super Cup last week
well one more to go
He came to us as a young lad with loads of potential. I'm sad it didn't work, he's a fan. Wish him success.
It would've worked if we were more patient. Instead the board decided to back worst United manager in 50 years, sold him and bought Sesko who isn't even as good as Rasmus.
Sesko is better in all aspects but that doesn't make Rasmus bad. We could have got Sesko and Rasmus and not buy Zirkzee. Think about that.
Also true
Rasmus finishing is way better than Sesko, Sesko just has better hold up play.
It's not. Unless you are comparing Napoli Rasmus who's getting fed by De Bruyne
Comparing first season rasmus. Who managed to score 16 in a season with limited service. His goal per shot is above anything sesko has ever produced. Hojlund is undoubtedly the better finisher
My point exactly, his finishing was actually insane his first season. Some sublimes goals with variety.
No sow we act like KDB is better than Bruno? Lol.
KDB in his position is better than Bruno out of his position. Now we're acting as if Bruno is playing in his position? Lmao
And what position exactly Bruno played last season according to you?
You tell me; you're the expert
I didn't claim he plays in different position. Defend your words.
What has Rasmus done to make him a better striker than Sesko?
Scored more goals in his first season, I think seskos overall game is better and has a much higher sealing but we’re forgetting Rasmus had 16 goals his first season, seskos on track to get 4 the way he’s going
Edit: I apologise for my atrocious spelling *ceiling
The season isn't over so we can't make that conclusion. Also because United isn't in Europe it's only fair we compare their domestic campaign numbers.
At this point in the season in Rasmus' first season he had 1 goal in the Premier League, Sesko has 2 goals and 1 assist. Both have 0 goals in the cup. Rasmus also played more games and more minutes in those games as compared to Sesko at this point in the season.
If I were to project Rasmus' numbers back in Dec 31st like you've done with Sesko, I'd say he'd be on track for 2 goals in the league by the end of the season. The eye test favors Sesko as well, he's just a much better player, so there's nothing that makes Rasmus better than Sesko.
Oh I agree in so far as the eye test and as you say Rasmus had more games in Europe and such.
Keeping it to just the premier league the 10 total goals and 2 assists I don’t think was a bad return for the lad in his first season.
I won’t give sesko the benefit of the doubt for minutes however as we can’t hold it against Højlund for not being injured particularly when there was evidence the lad played through injuries for us at times.
I also think sesko has the benefit of playing with better players (for service) in cunha, mbeumo etc compared to whatever it was garnacho, Antony and even rashford were offering Højlund at times.
I think seskos aerial ability, first touch, passing and link up and even finishing is better by a sizeable margin than hojlunds and his ceiling is higher.
My original comment was a minor defence of the lad as I think Rasmus was thrown to the wolves, originally brought in to be an understudy to a senior player (maybe even Kane) then a huge fee and thrust into the limelight and couldn’t do arguably the most difficult job in football I.e lead the line for man united at a young age.
I think we’re doing the same thing to sesko.
It would not shock me if we absolutely shatter this lads confidence and he becomes a figure of mockery and memes by years end and labelled another “flop” all because we don’t provide consistent service to a striker of any kind and more importantly we don’t create an environment that allows a young striker to thrive.
I pray I’m wrong as I was over the moon when we got him as I always watched his games when I could due to his wunderkid status.
But in the back of my mind I have this sickly feeling we’re gonna fail the lad.
We know Man Utd fans and how they are hehe this is just facts. but but but the eye test, the god forsaken eye test
Rasmus must be so relieved. He got out and no one is shitting on him anymore. 2027 we are reading same thing about Sesko
Make it 2026
Will always have a soft spot for Rasmus. Didn't work out at Utd, and while he has to take some responsibility for his performances, I really think he had the cards stacked against him from day 1 with how the squad was set up, lack of support for him etc. etc. He should never have been brought in to lead the line on his own, with fuck all backup or even an elder striker to mentor him. Unlike many recent players, he never kicked up a fuss or created a toxic environment, he was a proper pro til the end
Hope he continues to do well in Italy, and he'll always be one of those ex-players I'm keeping an eye on to see how they're doing.
Why would be come back for this train wreck anyway?
We don't even play a proper down the middle pass for our striker for some weird reason. KDB played such a pass in his first match for Napoli and he scored immediately. I don't understand why all our midfielders only lob the ball to the wings.
Who wouldn't wanna come back to a manager that doesn't rate you to sit on the bench where CBs get subbed on before you when we need a goal?
Between Zirkzee and Hojlund, its safe to say we made the wrong bet.
He is just not suited to EPL sadly.
Watch him shine at Roma if the deal goes through.
He was young player of the year for Serie A when we bought him
How? Zirkzee performed better than what Højlund did last year. It’s not like Højlund would magically perform this season. Especially when Mount, Cunha, Mbeumo and Sesko would start over him. Realistically neither Højlund nor Zirkzee was good enough
Nobody performed last season at all. And in 3 months sesko will be bullied out of the club.
No one performed but some players performed worse than others
that is true. But Zirkzee looks a lot more lethargic than I remember last season
Zirkzee, while shit, has performed better than Sesko.
Just a reminder, 20 year old Hojlund came to the Premier league and scored 10 goals in 30 league games.
Everyone was then shit in his 2nd season and we decided to bin him.
Should have kept him.
I think his second season there was a clear issue with him. His energy and fight were gone and he became stagnant. With Cunha and Mbeumo behind him he'd have looked so much better.
It wasn't fair that we didnt have a senior striker to help him
Rasmus was willing and motivated to fight for his spot. Should have gotten rid of Zirkzee last summer instead.
Would have been nice to have him yesterday. I'm happy for him though, his energy is contagious.
Would it? He spent the whole second half of last season starting pretty much every match and doing nothing.
Thank goodness Sesko has come in and is scoring all those goals Højlund was incapable of doing!
Wait a minute….
Sesko can at least contribute to the build up and gets some shots in.
He scores the same but can at least press, head a ball to a teammate of hold it for longer than a second
Hojlund scored way more goals his first season, before we shot his confidence to hell.
Seskos pressing is rubbish in comparison to Holjund.
What? Hojlund either ball watches or just literally run behind the ball, at least sesko is smart enough to try and intercept a shitty pass from the opposition or something.
They both suck but at least sesko does something besides not scoring
I don’t know why you’re downvoting me for stating a fact. Sesko half presses..
Yesterday he half pressed Gomes and when Gomes turned he just left him go with the ball under zero pressure. A couple of passes later they got a corner and they scored…
The whole team lacks energy but you press from the front, Sesko doesn’t press with the intention of actually tackling players and winning the ball.
how do you even know if i downvoted you, and yes he's still bad even if he's better than hojlund
Those guys are insane, Sesko is so much better and team plays far better with him.
With better finishing Sesko could have 3 goals yesterday to be fair. I don’t remember Hojlund getting as much chances when he was with us.
I’m not trying to make a point here but it makes no sense to compare the two when both have been lacking the most important thing for us which is goals.
Sesko made 4 or 5 shots last night. Hojlund spent games without a single shot last season
What does sesko have to do with anything?
Easy to do nothing when no one gives you anything to do
He wouldn't do anything. There was no space for him to run and he's not that good at tap ins
Really? He looked pretty hopeless at times and even if he’d stayed and we don’t have Sesko we’d still have the same issues with not being able to crest chances for him.
We gave him two years of premier league experience, which made him a better player, and then sold him at a loss.
It's quite mad how players succeeding when they leave is seen as a flaw. United players should come with a premium - we produce players that have played with the most pressure in the world, so when they move they play with greater freedom while still imbued with the advanced athleticism and training playing at the club entails. In any other team, they will be better
Good. We’ll get decent funds to reinvest in the squad, which is very much needed if we do end up qualifying for Europe. Plus Rashford money, Case wages saved, Ugarte, Zirkzee etc.
Great. Now our main striker is lesko than hojlund
It's okay, we bought ourselves another Hojlund.
It's not been a full season yet! Can we wait till then before we start writing him off?
Some people were writing him off before his plane landed
I'm not writing him off, but I've followed him before we signed him and thought it was an incredible risk to go for him after our experience with Hojlund. So far he hasn't proved me wrong, but no one happier than me if he does succeed in the end.
Pretty sure Hojlund was less expensive and younger no?
We’ve somehow gone ahead and done something even worse. Joke.
😂😂😂
Figo
Good!
At least some good news today