CONFIRMED: Man United owner Sir Jim Ractlife approve the sale of nine united players to create room for Five Major expensive signings in the summer – The likes of Hujlund, Rashford and Seven others Confirmed to leave
CONFIRMED: Man United owner Sir Jim Ractlife approve the sale of nine united players to create room for Five Major expensive signings in the summer – The likes of Hujlund, Rashford and Seven others Confirmed to leave
Man Utd boss Ruben Amorim wants to sign a top-class striker this summer
Manchester United have seemingly been left in the clear in the race to sign Victor Osimhen this summer after the Napoli striker’s chief suitors spectacularly withdrew from the race, though a possible swap for a struggling Red Devils forward has been taken off the table, as per David Ornstein.
The Red Devils’ struggles in front of goal are there for all to see this season, with Manchester United having only scored 37 times in their 29 Premier League games to date. That total is three worse than struggling Wolves, while a distant 32 short of the total top scorers Liverpool have racked up in the same amount of games.
As a result, Ruben Amorim – alongside technical director Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell – will make the signing of a new No.9 a priority focus this summer as they look to sign a classy centre forward capable of spearheading the manager’s 3-4-2-1 formation.
To that end, a report last week revealed the Red Devils had shortlisted four names, with Osimhen joining Viktor Gyokeres, Benjamin Sesko and Hugo Ekitike on their wishlist.
Since then, it’s been claimed that of those four, Amorim’s dream target would be Osimhen, a player who has blasted his way to an impressive 140 career goals from 258 appearances and having proven his goalscoring instincts in Belgium, France, Italy and now Turkey.
With a move from Napoli almost guaranteed this summer and facilitated by a reduced €75m (£62.7m, $81m) clause, the player is likely to be in high demand.
And the side reported to be leading that chase had appeared to be PSG, who had been keen to reunite Osimhen with his former Napoli teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
However, as per Sky reporter Sacha Tavolieri, PSG have now dropped out of the race for Osimhen after manager Luis Enrique decided he was more than happy with his attacking options as they stand. And while Chelsea could yet make their move to land the free-scoring Nigerian, it’s understood United will have an uncontested run at his signing if they register their interest in his signing quickly enough.
Swap deal for Osimhen ruled out as Man Utd learn costs
United’s plans to sign Osimhen have been fueled by reports that Napoli could potentially look to into a possible swap deal with United. To that end, the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and, more recently, Joshua Zirkzee, have all been linked with a move to the Amalfi Coast in recent weeks.
However, trusted reporter Ornstein recently shut down the possibility of Danish star Hojlund – who has struggled for goals this season and recently suffered a 20-game goalscoring drought – moving in the opposite direction.
“Certainly an interesting proposition, but I’m not sure how realistic it is,” said the transfer expert on Sky’s Back Pages podcast. “Manchester United spent £70m+ on Hojlund. My presumption is they’ll be wanting to build with him, rather than bringing in a much older striker in what would be a complicated deal.
“I do expect Osimhen to be on the move, given that Napoli let him go to Galatasaray and the future is really uncertain for him there. And United have been linked, but I’m not sure how realistic it is that United would let go of Hojlund. He is one who would raise some funds, but he would not produce a profit on the book value that he represents.”
Suggesting United may look to sell others to generate transfer funds, Ornstein concluded: “So I think it’s more likely that United will raise funds from elsewhere, as attractive a deal as that might sound for transfer lovers.”
