The summer’s transfer bid for Nigeria international Victor Osimhen has yet again assumed a new dimension with Manchester United now reportedly leading the race to lure away the indemand striker from Italian Serie A side, Napoli.
Following a spectacular 2021/22 season with the Serie A side that saw him scoring 18 goals and providing a further six assists in 32 outings across all competitions, Osimhen has caught the attention of several EPL clubs including Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United.
Napoli’s €100 million (about £86m) price tag has turned away the likes of Arsenal and Newcastle. But leading Italian news outlet, Gazzetta dello Sport, claimed te Old Trafford giants are still in the hunt for the 23-year-old forward with further suggestion that Bayern Munich might also joined the fray should their prized striker Robert Lewandowski take a walk as widely speculated.
“Manchester United is a strong name, but we cannot exclude the very rich Newcastle and the always attentive Arsenal,” Gazzetta dello Sport reported. “In Germany – not mentioned by the player – Bayern Munich could [be interested] in case of Robert Lewandowski’s farewell: anything can happen.”
Yet Osimhen seemed unperturbed with all the speculations surrounding a potential summer move away from Napoli.
“I know there are many people that would like me in Spain or England, but I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about it now that I’m with the national team,” the player reportedly said while on international duty with Nigeria. “I don’t know my future, I know anything can happen, but now I just want to go on holiday with my family, clear my head and recharge my batteries. Then we’ll take care of everything else.”
In the meantime, London Gunners has all but ruled out in the race for Osimhen claimed Goal’s Arsenal correspondent, Charles Watts via his YouTube channel.
He said: “It’s going to be a very difficult one to do: A – he’s going to be really expensive, B – Napoli are not an easy club to deal with, we know that,” he told his YouTube channel. “So in terms of how good are Arsenal’s chances of Osimhen, I wouldn’t say they’re great.
“But I can’t rule it out at all. And the fact that they have held talks shows that he is a target. But it’s going to be a very difficult one to do,” he added.