Man Utd are reportedly in ‘pole position’ to sign Napoli forward Victor Osimhen this summer ahead of Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Osimhen has regularly been linked with a move to the Premier League over the past couple of years.
It has been felt in the past that his price tag is too high. Last season, he scored 14 goals in 27 Serie A outings for Napoli. At the same time, reports suggested that he was valued at over £100m.
But the Nigeria international has silenced some of his doubters this season. He has grabbed 16 goals and three assists in just 17 league games as Napoli sit comfortably at the top of Serie A.
Napoli were understandably unwilling to let their prized asset leave the club in January as they are in the middle of a title fight. But it is suspected that a transfer is more likely in the summer if the club’s huge asking price is met.
Man Utd are being linked with Osimhen, with the club’s board ‘vowing’ to Erik ten Hag that they will sign an ‘important striker’ this summer. They are also admirers of Harry Kane, but recent reports have pointed to him staying at Tottenham beyond the end of his current contract in 2024.
So a move for Osimhen may be more likely and Italian outlet Il Mattino are reporting that United are ‘in pole position’ to sign Osimhen.
This comes after the Red Devils made contact with Napoli last month. At that stage, they ‘didn’t even want to sit down to start negotiating’ and the ‘operation has been postponed until June’.
Members of the Italian media are clearly big fans of Osimhen. Bruno Gentili is one journalist who has gone a bit wild with his valuation of the 24-year-old.
“Watch out for Manchester United for Victor, may the assault never come: for me, the Nigerian is worth €200m,” Gentili said (via Sport Witness).
Journalist Paolo de Paola went further as he added: “Osimhen is worth at least €300m! I don’t see any huge differences between him and [Kylian] Mbappe, on the contrary Osimhen places himself more at the disposal of the team and his teammates.”
United’s faithful should not read too much into these comments. But it is expected that they will have to pay a British record transfer fee to get Osimhen in.
Ex-player Louis Saha thinks Osimhen is a “great player” but he points out that he may need “time to adapt” to life at Man Utd.
“Osimhen is a great player. [Harry] Kane would not need any time to adapt if he joined United, whereas Osimhen might, just because…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…