Napoli will not rule out crucial Hojlund clause in negotiations with Manchester United

Napoli remain in contact with Manchester United over a potential deal for former Atalanta forward Rasmus Hojlund, and updates on Thursday evening claim that the Partenopei are not ruling out the inclusion of an obligation to buy clause, rather than an option. 

Napoli have returned to the transfer market in an attempt to find a replacement for Romelu Lukaku, who is expected to miss several months of the 2025-26 campaign after picking up an injury during a pre-season friendly against Olympiacos last week. 

With Lukaku temporarily out of the picture, and amidst suggestions that he could even be dropped from the club’s Serie A and Champions squad lists for the first half of the season, new signing Lorenzo Lucca is currently the only senior centre-forward available to Antonio Conte. 

Napoli open to mandatory buy option for Hojlund

As Football Italia reported at the beginning of the week, Napoli have been in contact with Manchester United to discuss a potential deal for Hojlund, who is considered the club’s ‘top’ priority before the end of the summer transfer window. 

The Denmark international had also been linked with a move to join Milan for several weeks, but the Rossoneri have since found an agreement with Bayer Leverkusen for Victor Boniface instead. 

That leaves Hojlund ‘open’ for Napoli, who are in ‘continuous’ contact with United according to updates from Gianluca Di Marzio. 

Thursday’s update claims that in order to complete a deal with United, Napoli have not ruled out the possibility of including a mandatory buy option in negotiations for the former Atalanta man. 

It is understood that the Partenopei have been exploring a potential loan with an option to buy until this point.