Manchester United, is reportedly planning an offer of €110 million in an attempt to sign Nigerian international Victor Osimhen during the upcoming transfer window, according to The Independent (UK).
As Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group takes over at Old Trafford, the Premier League’s biggest clubs plan to completely restructure its roster in advance of the 2024–2025 campaign.
After rumors surfaced on Monday suggesting that United is leading Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and Chelsea in the fight for Napoli’s striker, United is prepared to make a statement in the transfer market.
According to The Independent, United is prepared to make a sizable offer during the upcoming summer transfer window.
“The Nigerian forward has 13 goals this season and helped Napoli win Serie A last time around. Osimhen is wanted by Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and a host of other top teams. He is said to have a €110m release clause in the new contract he signed in Naples recently.”
The striker still has 14 goals engagements (11 goals and 3 assists) in 16 games in the Italian top division, despite missing a significant portion of the 2023–24 season owing to injury and his participation with Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.
At Napoli, the 25-year-old has been on a roll. He scored a league-high 26 goals in 32 Serie A games last season, and 31 goals in all competitions, helping the team win its first league title in 33 years.
His hiring will be extremely beneficial for United, the 20-time Premier League champions, who haven’t had a successful striker since 2015, when Dutchman Robin van Persie left the team.
Osimhen is one of the most sought-after attackers in Europe and has dominated headlines with his accomplishments, so it is not surprising that United is prepared to spend big money on the former Lille forward ahead of the upcoming campaign.
The Nigerian became the first African to win the top scoring title in Italy’s premier division at the end of the 2022–2023 season.
In addition, he received the 2022–2023 Italian Footballers’ Association Serie A Player of the Year award.
Osimhen of Napoli only managed to score once during the competition, but his contribution to the team was crucial to their advancement to the final, where they lost 2-1 to the hosts, following his assistance in helping Nigeria qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and finishing the qualification series as top scorer with 10 goals.
With an eighth-place finish, Osimhen became the first-ever Nigerian football player to be listed in the Top 10 of the Ballon d’Or, capping an incredible career for the Lagos-born striker.
At the CAF awards event in Marrakech last December, he defeated Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah to win African Footballer of the Year, making history as the first Nigerian to do so since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
