Manchester United wanted Victor Osimhen in the summer but the deal went south
According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United were keen on signing Victor Osimhen of Napoli this summer transfer window. Instead, United made the decision to sign Rasmus Hojlund for £72m to bolster the team’s attack.
United made numerous attempts to land the ferocious striker at the club but it was turned down by Napoli and why wouldn’t they do so? He registered a whopping 31 goals and 5 assists in 39 appearances for the club and also helped them win the Serie A.
This week, after Napoli’s official TikTok account published videos insulting their striker, discussion about Osimhen’s future resurfaced. The recordings in question were criticized by the forward’s agent Roberto Calenda, who also remarked that they had been ‘belatedly’ removed.
Napoli wanted a fee in the region of €150 million for the talented forward that could have set a British record. Osimhen only played one season in France, but during that season, he scored 18 goals, which led Napoli to sign him as their record signing in July 2020.
The club issued a statement where it said:
“Calcio Napoli, wishing to avoid any exploitation of the issue, point out that we never wanted to offend or mock Victor Osimhen, who is a treasure of this club. As proof of that, during the summer training retreat, the club firmly rebuffed every offer that was received for the striker’s transfer abroad.
“Social media, in particular TikTok, has always used an expressive form of language with a light heart and creativity, without wanting to, as in the case with Osimhen as protagonist, have any intention of insult or derision. In any case, if Victor perceived any offence towards him, this was not what the club intended.”
This undoubtedly puts the player’s position at the club in jeopardy and would certainly put his suitors on red alert. However, Erik ten Hag made the right decision to snub the Nigerian striker and instead go for Rasmus Hojlund.
He did cost a pretty penny but not as much as the Nigeria international would have. Plus, he is younger and seems like he really wants to be here and impress the fans. He is already a favourite at Old Trafford.
Osimhen appears to fit into any new tactics easily based on his numbers. But we must not lose sight of how Hojlund has so far awed us. We can only hope that he can maintain his momentum for as long as possible given how phenomenally involved he has been with this new club.
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As for Osimhen to Manchester United, that ship should have sailed by now. The need of the hour is to boost our attack in case either Antony or Jadon Sancho doesn’t stay here long-term.
The striker department is sorted for now. We can, however, use a signing like that of Wout Weghorst or Odion Igholo back in the day… someone just to fill the gaps if and when the Denmark international is unavailable.
