'Antonio Conte is a top coach' - Rasmus Hojlund says Napoli boss is 'exactly what I need' after making switch from Man Utd

Hojlund told local station Radio Kiss Kiss that leaving Manchester United for Napoli was something that he had to do for his career, having been pushed down the pecking order at Old Trafford following the big money acquisition of Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.

"Conte is a top coach," Hojlund told Radio Kiss Kiss. "I came here because I knew this was an important step for me. Napoli is a great club, and a wonderful place to live. It's exactly what I need right now in my career."

Hojlund had started the recent summer transfer window determined to stay at Old Trafford, but was forced to reconsider his position when it was clear that the club was looking to go in another direction – also spending substantial sums on Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.

Conte's Napoli are operating in a 4-1-4-1 system, whereby the attacking midfielders and wingers have more license to support Hojlund as the lone striker thanks to the sitting No. 6.

He had previously done respectably well under Erik ten Hag at Manchester United in a 4-2-3-1, but the squad struggled to then adapt to Ruben Amorim's very different 3-4-2-1. Hojlund's confidence slowly drained away over the course of last season, but he insists his new-found spirit is not linked to being utilised in a different tactical setup.

"For me it's the same, I don't care about the formation," he said. "I just play football and try to do my job as best I can."

Conte has overseen some of Romelu Lukaku’s best seasons, across spells with Inter and now Napoli, proving his ability to get the best out of strikers who haven't hit their potential elsewhere.

Potential is exactly what he sees in Hojlund, who is not yet the finished product but has certainly quickly demonstrated to his new boss that stardom is a possibility in the future.

"He's a 22-year-old who was on the sidelines at Manchester United. He has significant room for improvement; he needs to work because he has the potential to become a star, and he's proving it," Conte told reporters after the Genoa victory.

With two goals in four Serie A appearances for Napoli under his belt, Hojlund is already halfway to matching his Premier League tally from the whole of last season – netting just four times in 32 games in England's top flight. The striker had scored 10 times in his first Premier League campaign in 2023-24, which remains his most prolific return in a league setting in his career to date.

Hojlund scored nine Serie A goals for Atalanta during his sole prior season in Italy.

It's four goals in six Napoli outings across all competitions, having netted both in this month's 2-1 Champions League win over Sporting CP.

Hojlund has initially only joined Napoli on loan, but that will become a permanent transfer next summer if a conditional obligation to buy set at £38 million ($51m) is triggered. The clause is determined by whether Napoli qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Given that Conte's team currently sit top of Serie A after taking 15 points from a possible 18 through the first six weeks of the season, that looks like a relatively solid bet.

Hojlund has also already alluded to being keen to stay, declaring last month in response to questions about being at the fifth club in his young career: "I also played in Austria before, after leaving Denmark as a child. At 22, I already have a lot of experience under my belt. But now I'm in Naples and I plan to stay. All I know is that I'm happy where I am: here in Naples."