Fabrizio Romano: Multiple Serie A sides are “monitoring” Rasmus Højlund | OneFootball

There is considerable interest from Serie A in Rasmus Højlund with multiple clubs “ready to start” talks should Manchester United look to sell the Danish striker this summer, Fabrizio Romano reveals.

The Italian transfer guru contends “Serie A clubs are monitoring Ramus Højlund situation ahead of the summer transfer window,” though he does not specify which teams.

Napoli are believed to be the Italian club with the strongest interest in the 22-year-old striker with a report relayed by The Peoples Person revealing I Partenopei would be “open” to a part-exchange deal involving Højlund and Victor Osimhen.

However, Juventus and AC Milan have also both been linked with a move for the former Atalanta star, with many recruitment teams in Italy still holding the Dane in high regard, despite his struggles at Old Trafford.

Tweet: “Serie A clubs are monitoring Rasmus Højlund situation ahead of the summer transfer window. If Manchester United decided to sell Højlund to bring in a new striker in the summer, Italian clubs would be ready to start concrete contacts.”

United signed Højlund in 2023 for a fee worth an initial £64 million with a further £8 million in potential add-ons.

This means, as of this summer, the Dane’s ‘book value’ (i.e. the amount the club still has to account for his transfer fee) would total £38.4 million, if we omit the add-ons – a reasonable leap of faith given Højlund’s form is unlikely to have triggered any additional bonuses since he arrived in Manchester.

It would, therefore, require a transfer fee of at least £38.4 million for United to not incur an FFP hit by selling Højlund to one of his potential Italian suitors.

If the Red Devils were to sell for less than this amount, the Dane’s sale would actually produce a negative effect on the club’s finances.

And with Serie A a notoriously difficult league to extract large sums of money from, this feels an unlikely sum for an Italian side to meet for a striker in such dire form and just three league goals to his name this season. As such, a loan would be a far more realistic option should United seek to make room for a new centre-forward this summer.

There is a growing sense Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap is the club’s first-choice target, given a favourable £30 million release clause should (or, more accurately, when) the Tractor Boys be relegated.

The recruitment team at Old Trafford “firmly believe” Delap offers an “upgrade” on both Højlund and teammate Joshua Zirkzee, who has also been linked with his own return to Italy since after from Bologna last summer.

If United are to seal a move for the Ipswich striker, it feels likely at least one of the existing forwards at Old Trafford will have to make way for the imposing 22-year-old; and Serie A looks the most likely destination for either player.

Featured image Alex Livesey via Getty Images

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