Man Utd have been strongly linked with Victor Osimhen
Manchester United have been named as one of the four teams Victor Osimhen will choose from this summer, with the striker still very much on Ruben Amorim’s shopping list – while the Red Devils are also strongly linked with another star within the Premier League and after missing out on Viktor Gyokeres.
The Red Devils’ focus so far this summer window has been on strengthening their attack. Matheus Cunha has signed in a £62.5m fee from Wolves and Manchester United next hope to add Bryan Mbeumo to the mix, with a third offer now set to be launched for the Brentford forward.
Beyond that, United manager Amorim knows he still needs to add a central striker specialist, though any next high-profile move is likely to depend on sales first.
All the same, United have been strongly linked with a plethora of star-studded No.9s, though their first two options – in Liam Delap, who went to Chelsea, and now Gyokeres, who appears to be closing on a move to Arsenal – look to have slipped through the net.
Despite that, United still have the opportunity to bring in a world-class striker in Osimhen, whose future remains unresolved after a season’s loan with Galatasaray.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, United remain very much in the mix to sign the striker, with the club described by the pink paper as having a ‘burning magnetism’ to sign the 26-year-old, while, despite the absence of any form of European football to offer the striker, still very much fancy their chances of sealing a deal.
Indeed, United are considered as a strong option to sign Osimhen, whose exit from Napoli has been described as certain, and with the star apparently due to pick from four destinations.
And they claim that, as well as United, Juventus are very much strongly pushing for a deal, while Al-Hilal, whom the 40-times capped Nigeria striker has already rejected, remain in the mix and cannot be discounted given their firm offer for his signature remains on the table.
Finally, it’s reported that Galatasaray are also still very much in the mix to sign the star permanently and hope his year on loan in Istanbul can convince him to make the move on a full-time basis.
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Interestingly, the article does not offer any indication that a move to Liverpool could be an option for Osimhen, despite the fact that the Merseysiders were this week described as having placed the Nigerian on a three-player striker wishlist, alongside Alexander Isak and Hugo Ekitike.
On the subject of Ekitike, Fabrizio Romano claims United now face an ‘almost impossible’ task of securing the Frenchman, with Eintracht Frankfurt not preparing to budge on their €100m (£86.4m, $118m) valuation.
By contrast, any move for Osimhen is likely to be much cheaper, with Napoli open to his sale for a fee of around €75m (£64.8m, $88.4m) this summer – while their may even be room for negotiation on that price given the Serie A champions’ desperation to get rid.
Any dreams Amorim had of reuniting with Gyokeres appeared to have been sunk after Sky Sports Switzerland reporter, Sacha Tavolieri, claimed Arsenal have agreed a five-year contract with the Swede and was now ready to prioritise a move to north London.
As a result, The Mirror claim United have thrown in the towel with regards pursuing Gyokeres. They state Man Utd are ‘accepting defeat’ on the free-scoring Swede and are ‘convinced’ he’ll be playing in north London next season.
Rather than chase a lost cause, the report then went on to claim Man Utd are now making a ‘concerted effort’ to sign Ollie Watkins instead, though, they are unwilling to meet Aston Villa’s asking price, which is set at £60m and with the Red Devils in the belief a deal is there to be done for a lesser fee.
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