Man Utd want to sign 25-year-old star in January, Mourinho said he's 'world-class' - report
Manchester United are nine points behind the guaranteed Champions League positions after an underwhelming start to the season.
The Red Devils have netted only 21 goals in 17 top-flight games and manager Ruben Amorim is reportedly displeased with the current options to lead the attack.
Sky Switzerland journalist Sacha Tavolieri now claims that United are already in contact with the representative of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen over a possible winter move.
Personal terms could be easily agreed with the 25-year-old, but Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis is unlikely to accept anything less than the player’s £62 million release clause.
United are eyeing Osimhen as a potential replacement for wantaway star Marcus Rashford, but Tavolieri reports that INEOS require significant player exits to afford the huge outlay.
Osimhen has been on loan with Galatasaray since September, but there is a break clause in January.
United unlikely to land Osimhen this winter
Amorim has rotated his attacking options since his appointment. He started with Marcus Rashford before preferring Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee to lead the line.
Hojlund has been the most successful, scoring five goals since the last international break. Zirkzee has fared decently with three goals in this period – the same as Rashford.
Rashford has been dropped for the past three games due to ‘selection’ reasons by Amorim. He could head for the exit door next month after admitting he wants a new challenge.
Osimhen is reportedly on the club’s radar, but a deal is unlikely to happen. United’s negotiating power for Rashford has reduced with his lack of game time and desire to leave the club.
Interested clubs will be aware of this, and they could propose loan deals with future buy clauses.
United are unlikely to recoup a big fee from his sale. If they wish to recruit Osimhen this winter, it could depend on securing funds from offloading other first-team stars.
With this in mind, United are unlikely to sign Osimhen in January.
The Nigerian striker, described as ‘world-class‘ by Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho, has impressed for Galatasaray with 12 goals and five assists in 15 outings this season.
Osimhen would be an upgrade on Hojlund and Zirkzee. He averages almost 1.9 shots on target, which is significantly higher than the United duo (0.4 & 0.5 shots on target).
United are in contact with his representative but may wait until the summer to spend big on a striker. A left wing-back could be prioritised for January.
The club could trigger the buy-back clause to re-sign Alvaro Fernandez from Benfica.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com & Sofascore.com.
Article written by Sri Aswin .