Napoli coach Antonio Conte has subtly criticized his Manchester United counterpart, Ruben Amorim, suggesting that the arrogance of previous coaches has hindered Rasmus Højlund’s development as a striker.
Højlund arrived at Napoli on loan for a season last summer, in an agreement that obligates the Serie A club to sign him permanently if they qualify for the Champions League.
The Danish striker joined United in 2023 for a fee of £64 million ($85.79 million) from Atalanta, scoring 26 goals in 95 appearances. He was often overlooked by Amorim during his time in charge of the Old Trafford team and did not feature in any of the first four Premier League games of the season.
Højlund got off to a good start at Napoli, scoring nine goals in his first 20 appearances, but he hasn’t found the net since scoring a brace against Cremonese on December 28th.
“Some young coaches today are arrogant and don’t want to adapt. They see a young striker struggling and, instead of coaching him, they blame him,” Conte said in a press conference on Friday before the weekend’s victory over Sassuolo.
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Napoli’s sporting director, Giovanni Manna, has stated that he considers the permanent signing of Højlund from Manchester United a “formality”.“They always complain and blame everyone but themselves, because everything is handed to them on a silver platter.”
Antonio Conte
“There were more prestigious clubs interested, but his willingness was crucial, and we are proud of it. There is a purchase option and a purchase obligation if we qualify for the Champions League.” The player considers himself a Napoli player, and the same goes for us. This is extremely important.” Napoli currently occupies third place in Serie A, six points behind the league leaders, Internazionale, and will face Juventus on Sunday.“We did everything we could to sign him,” Manna declared to the Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
Giovanni Manna
