(Credit: Imago)

James Murray

Wed 20 May 2026 17:30, UK

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Rasmus Hojlund’s permanent move to Napoli has seen Manchester United make a “very big loss” on the deal. 

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider the Premier League giants have sold the Denmark international for his book value.

Hojlund will join Napoli permanently this summer after they secured Champions League qualification, triggering a clause in the agreement.

The Serie A giants paid a £5.2million loan fee for the 23-year-old, while they will now hand over a further £38m to seal his signature. 

Man United have made a significant loss after signing the striker in a £72m deal from Atalanta in the summer of 2023. 

How Man United have avoided PSR loss on Rasmus Hojlund

Man United are looking to strengthen in the summer transfer window after securing Champions League football for next season. 

The Hojlund cash will go some way towards helping Michael Carrick bring in his targets at Old Trafford. 

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson discussed what the Hojlund deal means for Man United.

“They will come out of it broadly neutral from a PSR perspective,” said Borson.

“Obviously, there is a headline loss. If you look at what they paid versus what they’ll receive, it’s obviously a very big loss, but they’ve taken three years of amortisation.

“They’ll comfort themselves that they’ve not made a PSR or an SCR loss on paper because they’ve sold him for whatever his book value is, but it’s not the real world.” 

Why Jadon Sancho situation is more damaging than Hojlund for Man United

Borson insisted Man United have come out of the deal for Hojlund better than the situation with Jadon Sancho, who is set to leave Old Trafford on a free transfer this summer. 

“It’s still a very disappointing transfer, but it is mitigated by the fact that they got out of it,” said Borson.

“There are worse-case scenarios like Sancho, where they get out of it not making a book loss because his book value is zero at the end of his contract, but it’s been a complete disaster. 

“If you were to add up the wages, offset by whatever they receive back on loan fees, it’s well over £100m for nothing. There is almost no contribution at all, so you have to separate sort of an acceptable deal. 

“But it doesn’t really mean Hojlund has been a successful sale. You’ve still invested that money. It’s not worked, the player is gone, and you’ve got very little out of it. 

“They’ve done okay out of the deal and the player has done okay as well. It’s worked out okay. Nothing more, nothing less. He goes off with his career, the signing hasn’t worked, and they try somebody else.”