Benni McCarthy admits he’s ‘so pleased’ to see Rasmus Hojlund thriving away from Man United

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Rasmus Hojlund appears to have found a new home at Napoli after his move in the summer transfer window, with the Dane’s brace on Wednesday evening seeing him showered in praise by players and pundits.

The Manchester United loanee struggled at Old Trafford last season, going 21 games without a goal for the Red Devils at one point as they slumped to their lowest league finish in Premier League history under manager Ruben Amorim.

That saw the Dane cast aside by the Portuguese tactician in the summer transfer market, and with United landing attacking duo Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko on mega-money deals, it means the former Atalanta star had to look elsewhere for first-team football.

Napoli were the club to take a punt on him, and it appears to have been a masterstroke from the reigning Serie A champions.

Featuring in three league matches and two Champions League ties for the Gli Azzurri, Hojlund impressed by scoring on his Serie A club debut against Fiorentina.

But it was his brace against Amorim’s former side, Sporting Lisbon, in the Champions League on Wednesday that has really sparked interest in his talents, with Premier League stalwart Benni McCarthy leading the praise over his performance.

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Benni McCarthy tells Manchester United loanee Rasmus Hojlund to ‘keep the fire burning’ amid Napoli form

McCarthy, who is currently the manager of Kenya’s national team, worked with Rasmus Hojlund during the Dane’s first season at Manchester United as a first-team striker coach.

There appears to be a bond between the two, with Hojlund not only settling into Mancunian life with McCarthy as his mentor, but also performing much better when the South African was his guide.

The Copenhagen academy graduate scored 16 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions in his first year at the Theatre of Dreams, in what was a solid first campaign by all means.

However, that faltered last season once McCarthy left, and he only managed 10 goals in 52 games in the previous campaign before being shipped out to the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona towards the end of the window.

However, Hojlund looks to have found his mojo again in Italy, and that led McCarthy to comment on the striker’s Instagram: “Solid, my man. So pleased and happy for you, Ras. Keep the fire burning.”

It’s a superb compliment from the man who bred him into English football, and comments of that ilk will massively spur him on to prove United wrong for their decision to let him go.

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Kevin De Bruyne compares Hojlund to Erling Haaland

The man to provide Hojlund with his chances was Manchester City legend Kevin de Bruyne.

The Belgian also moved to Napoli in the summer, bringing a decade of incredible performances at the Etihad Stadium to an end once his contract expired in June.

But the duo have put their rivalries aside to team up in Naples, and that culminated in De Bruyne assisting Haaland twice to beat Sporting and give Antonio Conte his first win in the Champions League this season.

And, speaking after the game, the Belgian maestro even compared Hojlund to his former City teammate Erling Haaland, for the way that he runs into space to create chances. De Bruyne said: “We played a great game, but Sporting are strong and played a great game with technique and intensity.

“We created chances, but then the penalty was a bit of a stupid mistake. We deserved the win today.

“I was trying to get into that space for the first goal and was waiting for the right moment to pass it to Rasmus, luckily he did the rest.

“I think Rasmus is growing a lot and is very similar to Haaland.”

“I think they [Haaland and Hojlund] are very similar because they both like to attack the depth.

“Maybe Hojlund comes to play the ball towards us more, but I think he needs to attack the space a lot because he can score and give us a big hand.”

If Hojlund can replicate even half of what Haaland did in his time in the Premier League with De Bruyne, it could prove to be a masterstroke from Napoli, and another transfer failure by United.