Manchester United begin their 2025-26 Premier League campaign by hosting Arsenal at Old Trafford but Rasmus Hojlund won't be involved following a decision by Ruben Amorim
Rasmus Hojlund is expected to be left out of Manchester United's squad to face Arsenal in a brutal decision by Ruben Amorim. Hojlund, 22, faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford after the Red Devils signed fellow striker Benjamin Sesko for £74million.
The Dane has interest from several clubs across Europe, including AC Milan, but has said that he wants to stay and fight for his place at United. That's despite them sticking a £30m price tag on him and with Hojlund having been an unused substitute during the Red Devils' final pre-season friendly against Fiorentina last Saturday.
Amorim's decision, as first reported by the Athletic, will undoubtedly increase speculation over Hojlund's future, having joined the Red Devils for £72m just two years ago. During his pre-match press conference, the United manager skirted around a question about whether the 22-year-old was still part of his long-term plans.
"He's one more option, we will see," Amorim replied ahead of Sunday's 4:30pm kick-off. "We are focused on this game and Rasmus is still our player."
The Red Devils boss also confirmed that Joshua Zirkzee, another option up front, is now ready to return after working his way back to full fitness during pre-season. New signing Sesko is set to be involved against Arsenal in some capacity, having only had a week to work with his new team-mates following his big-money move from RB Leipzig.
Privately, Hojlund has maintained his professionalism and has so far given no indication that he wants to leave. While Old Trafford chiefs were negotiating for Sesko, Hojlund insisted that he wanted to stay and fight for his place, insisting that he's 'more than ready' for competition.
"The most important [thing] for me is to keep working hard and stay focused and then we'll see what happens," the Denmark international told reporters during the Red Devils' tour of the USA.
"My plan is very clear and that is for me to stay and fight for my spot. Competition is fine with me, it sharpens me. I'm more than ready."
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Also in pre-season, Amorim hailed: "I'm really happy with Rasmus, but I don't know what is going to happen until the end of the market," he said.
"The important thing is that Rasmus is scoring goals. He's connecting really well with the team. He's improving. I don’t know what is going to happen until the market is closed. We suffered a lot because of the lack of goals last season."
Hojlund has scored 26 goals in 95 games for United since joining from Italian side Atalanta in August 2023. If he were to leave, the Red Devils would prefer a permanent sale as opposed to a loan deal.