Manchester United remain in talks with Napoli over Rasmus Hojlund but have rejected a request from the Serie A club during negotiations, according to reports in Italy.
The Serie A champions have been trying to sign Hojlund before Monday’s transfer deadline due to Romelu Lukaku’s thigh injury.
The former Chelsea and United striker does not need to undergo surgery after he was forced off during Napoli’s pre-season friendly against Olympiacos on August 14, but he is likely to miss at least three months.
Hojlund has been hesitating over a return to Serie A following interest from both AC Milan and Roma, but Napoli have now opened talks with United over a deal for the Denmark international.
According to Sky Sport Italy, Napoli are aiming to reach an agreement with United on Tuesday evening and are ‘confident’ a deal can be finalised.
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Napoli want to sign Hojlund on loan with an option to buy for around €45 million (£38.8m).
The Serie A champions have attempted to include that purchase option on the condition of Hojlund reaching a certain number of appearances, but United have rejected that request and want the clause to be an obligation at the end of the season.
Hojlund, who was signed in a £72m deal from Atalanta two years ago, has been left out of both of United’s squads for their Premier League games against Arsenal and Fulham this month.
Napoli, meanwhile, started with Lorenzo Lucca in attack on Saturday as they began the defence of their Serie A title win a 2-0 win away to Sassuolo.
‘It’s an important injury for a player who had a specific value. He had it last year in the Scudetto win, but we know very well that these situations can happen during the year,’ Antonio Conte said of Lukaku’s absence last week.
‘Something important happened last year too, not only in terms of injuries, but it can also happen in the transfer market, something that seems to make everything collapse.
‘But these guys have shown last year that they can cope with everything, what we have to do is not go after recriminations, to find alibis, what we have to do is find the solution. We did it last year at every difficulty, we never cried, but we found solutions.’
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