Hojlund got his Napoli career off to a terrific start as the Denmark international required just 14 minutes to find the back of the net on his debut. After the match, head coach Conte heaped praise on the former Atalanta marksman and jokingly thanked Manchester United for letting them have the player, stating that Hojlund will bring luck just like former Red Devils midfielder Scott McTominay did.
Speaking to reporters after the 3-1 win over Fiorentina, Conte said: “Hojlund is only 22 years old, we got him from Manchester United, seeing as it brought us luck doing that with McTominay. We knew his qualities, he has great potential and can improve. You can see he’s a lad with great prospects.
“We signed Hojlund to replace Romelu [Lukaku], who will be out for a long time. Napoli controlled the match today, we also need someone who can hold the ball up, that’s true of all teams who want to dominate matches.”
Lukaku, who was so influential in Napoli lifting the Scudetto last year, suffered a thigh injury in pre-season. The Belgian opted against surgery, which means he could come back sooner than expected. Nonetheless, he is likely to remain on the sidelines for the next few months.
As such, securing another striker was crucial to Napoli. Even though the Partenopei added Lorenzo Lucca – who scored 12 league goals last season at Udinese – to the ranks, signing one more forward became a necessity. Napoli, thus, signed Hojlund for a €6 million loan fee with an obligation to buy him for €44m (£38m/$51m) next summer. It was essential for the Dane to leave Old Trafford after United acquired the services of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.
After making three wins out of three for the first time in the league since the 2021-22 season, Napoli and Conte will now turn their focus to the upcoming Champions League opener – a daunting trip to the Etihad Stadium to face Manchester City on Thursday, with Hojlund and McTominay returning to the home of United’s rivals.
