Rasmus Hojlund sparks concern at new club as Man Utd loanee 'needs to improve'

Napoli boss Antonio Conte is concerned about Rasmus Hojlund following his loan move from Manchester United in the summer. The striker moved to Italy on a temporary basis after being deemed surplus to requirements at Old Trafford. He has made a decent start at his new club, scoring one goal in two league matches so far this season.

It has been reported that Hojlund will join Napoli permanently if they qualify for the Champions League next season due to a clause in his loan deal. If that happens, there is an area in which he will need to drastically improve. The forward is yet to grasp the language, which has led to communication problems behind the scenes.

Speaking to Italian outlet La Repubblica, the United loanee revealed that Conte is 'worried' about his inability to speak Italian.

"He knows I need to improve my Italian, and he asks me all the time, worried about making himself understood," said Hojlund.

"'Is it clear? Is it clear?' are the words he uses most often with me. I always tell him yes, but if I have any doubts, I ask my team-mates."

Hojlund is under pressure to provide the goals for Napoli in the absence of Romelu Lukaku, who is set to be sidelined for a while after picking up a thigh injury.

Quizzed on how he is coping under the weight of expectation, he replied: "It's not just me, Napoli also has other good strikers like [Lorenzo] Lucca and [Giuseppe] Ambrosino. And we're eagerly awaiting Romelu's return, we all have a lot to learn from him."

The forward initially wanted to stay at United before he was bumped down the pecking order following the arrival of Benjamin Sesko. He appears to be enjoying his time at Napoli, having been left impressed with the winning culture at the club.

"There's a special football culture here," said Hojlund. "I felt it right away when I came to Naples for the first time as an opponent with Atalanta. The fans were crazy and very passionate, which makes them different from the others.

"The city is truly beautiful, the climate is wonderful. But above all, I found a family atmosphere, which is exactly what I needed at this point in my career."

It remains to be seen if Hojlund will kick on and become a regular scorer for Napoli, who are aiming to win back-to-back league titles. They have made the perfect start to the campaign, being the only side to win all four of their opening matches.

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