In the summer of 2023, Manchester United completed the signing of Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta in a deal worth £72 million, including bonuses.

Hojlund had a promising first season at the club, scoring 16 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions. That was especially impressive when you take into account that United struggled that season, and he did not always get the best service.

In his second season at the club, Hojlund failed to build on the form he showed in his first season. He scored 10 times, but his performances were average. He lost a lot of duels and contributed very little to United's overall play.

Following Hojlund's struggles, United decided to sign Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig. The Old Trafford hierarchy then decided to part ways with Hojlund. The Danish forward joined Napoli on an initial loan deal in 2025, and that transfer was made permanent in the summer. Including the loan fee, United earned around £43 million from the transfer.

Speaking on the Overlap Daily, Peter Schmeichel said that he believes United should not have sold Hojlund and also questioned the signing of Sesko.

“Rasmus Hojlund was a goal machine. And he will be a goal machine everywhere,” Schmeichel said, speaking about Hojlund, who has scored 19 goals since moving to Napoli over a year ago. 

“He’ll have periods where he doesn’t score, but he will score a lot of goals. He’s young and, from childhood, has been a Manchester United fan. He would do anything for this football club, and he played during the period when he had no service.

“He had players there who very openly would not even pass it to him. A young kid who needed to be coached in order to maximise his great talent, which I think he has; I see him playing for Denmark.

“This is a fantastic player. What do we do? Well, we got the head of recruitment in from Red Bull," Schmeichel said, referring to Christopher Vivell.

"And what does he do? He brings in his player.

“So you’ve got Benjamin Sesko, who is a great player but is always injured. He doesn’t play. We have already gone two years down the road with a striker who has so much potential. Why did we feel the need to make a change there?”

There is a lot that one can criticise United for, but the club made the right decision in replacing Hojlund with Sesko, despite Schmeichel thinking otherwise. 

Sesko's fitness issues are reportedly due to just one injury, as opposed to several different injuries. Once he is back fit, he will be one of United's key players.

Sesko is the complete profile. He is an excellent finisher, both in the penalty box and from range. His movement is very good; he is fast, strong, and also has the vertical jump and height to be of real value from attacking set pieces. He has all the tools to become one of the best strikers in the world, and a few months on the sidelines will not change that.

Hojlund was not completely at fault for his shortcomings in a red shirt. United failed to provide him with a stable environment, but he was really poor in that second season. He has talent, and United could have done more to maximise that, but it was in both parties' best interests to move on.

While he has done fairly well at Napoli, he is yet to prove himself as the 'goal machine' which Schmeichel referred to him as.

That being said, United must give Sesko the platform to reach his full potential. The club need to build a strong team around him and create the right culture at the club.