5
Manchester United appear ready to pull out all the stops to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen if recent reports are to be believed.
For several months, the media has linked United with the Nigerian striker, who proved crucial in Napoli’s Serie A triumph in the 2022/23 season.
Osimhen topped the Serie A scorers’ charts that campaign, with 26 goals in 32 games as well as five assists. While the team’s performances tanked last season, Osimhen remained clinical, with 15 goals and three assists in 25 appearances. (Transfermarkt)
In April, The Peoples Person relayed reports that Napoli expressed a willingness to part ways with their star striker, with the club exploring potential replacements, such as Lille’s Jonathan David.
A month later, Italian football agent Andrea D’Amico made an outlandish claim that United could convince Napoli to send Osimhen to Old Trafford by offering them Rasmus Hojlund in return.
With no further movement reported since D’Amico’s eyebrow-raising claim, Arsenal emerged as a contender in the race to sign the Nigerian goal machine.
Still, with Osimhen’s release clause standing at €120 million, signing the player would prove to be a costly affair.
Just six days ago, United were reportedly looking into ways of getting around Osimhen’s steep release clause. This includes offering Napoli Mason Greenwood plus some additional cash for the striker.
If that progress wasn’t encouraging enough, on Friday, Antonio Conte indicated that Osimhen would indeed leave the club this summer, meaning that United could be in with a chance to lure him to Old Trafford.
While D’Amico’s swap proposal may have been long forgotten, it now appears as if the agent’s seemingly outlandish idea may be more possible than first realized.
La Repubblica reported that United are poised to submit an offer for Osimhen that includes Hojlund and some additional cash. Still, the Italian newspaper noted that the Red Devils could decide to simply continue their pursuit of Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee instead.
Parting ways with Hojlund in exchange for Osimhen could be viewed as a questionable decision by United, particularly given the hefty price tag they originally paid for the Danish striker as well as his progress during his debut season at the club. Still, should Osimhen be made available, it would be difficult to pass up the opportunity to sign what could be an elite striker.
Want to be the first to hear breaking Man United news? For carefully selected, crucial updates, join our WhatsApp channel: https://bit.ly/United-Breaking-News.
