Peter Schmeichel’s damning Man United verdict: ‘Weird’ signing of £74m star, why they should NOT have let Rasmus Hojlund leave – and the player the club will regret selling

Manchester United icon Peter Schmeichel has weighed in on what he believes are poor recent transfer decisions made by his former club^[1], as the Red Devils continue to struggle under Ruben Amorim^[2]. 

The Manchester club currently sit 10th in the Premier League^[3] table, but have won just six top-flight matches since the start of the year.

In a bid to remedy the poor form that saw the club finish 15th in the first division at the end of last season, Amorim oversaw wholesale changes to his squad over the summer, bringing in players including Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko, who joined the club from RB Leipzig for £74million. 

Man United^[4] also shed players, with a number of big names, including Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho^[5], Andre Onana^[6], and Rasmus Hojlund^[7], sent out on loan to top clubs across Europe. 

Among those loanees, none have seen an uptick in form so quickly^[8] as Hojlund, whose landing at Napoli been unimaginably soft after two torrid seasons at Old Trafford. 

The Danish star has already netted twice in his four Serie A^[9] appearances for Antonio Conte^[10]‘s side, and scored two in two in Champions League^[11] action. 

Peter Schmeichel has shared his thoughts on unnecessary changes in the squad he feels Man United have made over the last two seasons

The departures of Rasmus Hojlund and Scott McTominay has seen them flourish at Napoli

‘You only have to see what he’s doing at Napoli with Kevin de Bruyne and Scott McTominay to play with – he’s scoring goals,’ Schmeichel said on BBC’s Sacked in the Morning^[12] podcast. 

‘I’ve consistently said this for two-and-a-half years – Rasmus Hojlund will be a 25-goal-a-year striker for Manchester United, but he needs service.

‘We let him go on the stats that he scored very little goals last season and bring Sesko in at the time we bring in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo, who would give Hojlund first-class service.’

Schmeichel also pointed out that the decision to bring in Sesko in the first place – while Hojlund was still at the club – was ‘a little bit weird’, due to the Dane’s lack of service. 

‘You spend £70m-plus on Sesko, when we don’t have the number six we should have, and there’s the goalkeeping position as well,’ Schmeichel added. 

‘Why did we bring someone in that we didn’t need? Because the head of recruitment comes from Leipzig [Christopher Vivell] and he’s got to make a mark.’

Schmeichel added that he believed with Vivell, Amorim, former sporting director Dan Ashworth, and Jason Wilcox, there were ‘different people with different agendas’ in charge of decision-making, which could prove destabilising.  

Over the international break, Hojlund, whose loan deal includes an obligation to buy next summer, proved his club form could translate internationally^[13], netting a brace against Belarus. 

The Danish star has seen an impressive uptick of form in front of goal after his summer move

New Man United striker Benjamin Sesko was drafted in at Old Trafford for a punchy £74million

McTominay has become a cult figure in Naples after helping the side win a fourth Serie A title

But it is the 22-year-old’s new Napoli team-mate McTominay who, in Schmeichel’s eyes, represents one of the biggest transfer missteps Man United have made over the last few seasons. 

The Scotland international had been at Man United since early on in his youth career, only to book a move to Napoli at the start of 2024-25 after failing to gain the permanent favour of Erik ten Hag. 

McTominay then went on to score 13 goals and provide a further six assists during his debut campaign, helping Napoli secure the Scudetto and being named the league’s MVP in the process. 

To Schmeichel, that he had been let go by his former club was a huge disappointment, particularly because the player was ‘so Manchester United’.  

‘The problem was his versatility, because you have players who can only play in one position,’ Schmeichel continued. ‘Managers didn’t trust him to build the team around. 

‘They want the neat players. He was the victim of that time and again.

‘I don’t get why those two are at Napoli,’ he added, noting that Hojlund too was a ‘massive fan’ of the club as a boy, and inspired the love of the Old Trafford faithful as he ‘never complained’. 

Instead both players continue to weave their magic in Campania, with Napoli top of the Serie A table ahead of the international break.