International teammates backs Man United to complete the signing of £94m Napoli star in the summer

International teammates backs Man United to complete the signing of £94m Napoli star in the summer

Manchester United – like the rest of Osimhen’s suitors – were priced out during the summer of 2023, Napoli’s eternally-outspoken president Aurelio de Laurentiis demanding a staggering fee in excess of £150 million.

But with a release clause in his contract heading into the off-season – albeit one that would still require United to part with a club-record sum – the former Lille talisman is likely to emerge as one of biggest plotlines of this year’s summer saga.

Manchester United still keen on Victor Osimhen
“He’s a really good guy,” Brentford and Nigeria midfielder Frank Onyeka tells Sky Sports. “He’s someone that wants to win. He doesn’t like to lose, even in training. He always wants to push players around him, try to encourage them.

“He’s a fighter.”

A goalscorer, too. Osimhen hit 31 last term, firing Napoli to their first Scudetto since Diego Maradona’s heyday. And while mega-money marquee signings may become a thing of the past under Ineos – Manchester United’s new decision makers focusing on potential and youth rather than big reputations – there is an acceptance that elite-level difference-makers layers of Osimhen’s ilk may represent a worthy investment (The Independent).

“He’s always there to help the team, to fight for the team. Even when the team is down, he’ll be the first man to push the team,” Onyeka adds, highlighting the attributes that would almost certainly see Osimhen become an immedate fans’ favourite at Old Trafford.

“He never gives up. Hopefully, he comes to the Premier League.”

Napoli striker available for £50 million less
Onyeka was quick to laugh off any tongue-in-cheek suggestions that Osimhen could join him at Brentford. He is simply far ‘too expensive’.

But even if his price-tag has fallen by £50 million in the space of a few months, Manchester United and fellow suitors Chelsea may simply be too hamstrung by financial concerns – and the need to strengthen other areas – to consider triggering the clause in Osimhen’s contract.

With Rasmus Hojlund breaking records and adding the Premier League’s Player of the Month award to his collection of accolades, a £94 million striker feels like a very nice addition indeed but not particularly a necessary one