‘He will be a 25-goals-a year striker’ — Man United legend slams decision to sell rising star

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has slammed the club’s decision to part ways with Rasmus Højlund, insisting the Danish striker should never have been allowed to leave.

Schmeichel believes Højlund has all the qualities to become a 25-goal-a-season forward if given the right service and says replacing him with Benjamin Sesko made little sense.

Speaking on the club’s recent transfer activity, Schmeichel didn’t hold back his frustration over United’s summer dealings. “The signing of Benjamin Sesko was a little bit weird to me because we have Rasmus Højlund, who has been starved of service for two years,” the Danish legend said.

“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 argued that the club’s decision-making has been inconsistent and short-sighted. “I’ve consistently said this for two-and-a-half years — Rasmus Højlund will be a 25-goal-a-year striker for Manchester United, but he needs service,” he emphasised.

“We let him go on the stats that he scored very little goals last season and bring Sesko in at the same time we bring in Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, who would give Højlund first-class service.”

He suggested internal politics may have influenced the signing, saying, “Why did we bring someone in that we didn’t need? Because the head of recruitment comes from Leipzig, Sesko’s former club, and he’s got to make a mark.”

Another club legend, Paul Scholes, also voiced his disbelief at the decision to replace one young striker with another.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad and The Football podcast, Scholes said: “You look at Rasmus Højlund; 22 years old, came when he was 20. One centre-forward for Manchester United and everything was on him.

“The pressure was on him and he couldn’t handle it. He should be coming in and out of the team. There should be three or four centre-forwards there.”

Scholes believes the club failed to manage Højlund properly before letting him go. “This summer, what do they do? They let him go, and they buy another one, very similar, exactly the same — 22 years of age,” he added. “He’s started okay, he looks like he’s getting better. But where’s the common sense in that?”

Both Højlund and Sesko have made bright starts to their respective seasons — Højlund scoring twice in four Serie A games and twice in two Champions League matches for Napoli, while Sesko has two goals in seven Premier League games for United.