Manchester United to Pay £140M to Victor Osimhen
Napoli's Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen reacts during the Italian Serie A football match between Napoli and Bologna on October 28, 2021 at the Diego-Maradona stadium in Naples. (Photo by Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP) (Photo by FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
The English Premier League team, Manchester United, has been advised to pay £140 million to sign Nigerian international Victor Osimhen this summer after accepting to a contract to sign his Napoli teammate Kim Min-jae, according to the UK tabloid The Mirror.
Following his fantastic performance for the Serie A champions this season, Osimhen has emerged as a top target for United this summer, and he currently tops the club’s shortlist of strikers.
The Nigerian has been chosen by the Devils as the attack’s next season’s captain, according to The Mirror, who also noted that the Devils sent scouts to watch Napoli’s Champions League match against Milan last month.
Osimhen is presently leading the Italian Serie A goal scorers list with 23 goals, three more than Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez, who is in second spot with 20 goals, and is having one of the greatest seasons of his professional career with Napoli.
The Super Eagles forward is still under contract at the Stadio Amando Maradona for three more years, but after a respectable season thus far, several European teams have been linked with signing him in the summer, with United being one of the favorites.
Kim, a teammate of his at Napoli, has already made the decision to join United despite only going to Naples a year ago.
The Devils are eager to recruit Osimhen, who led Napoli to their first Scudetto victory in 33 years, after deciding to pay the £43 million release clause contained in the South Korean’s contract.
Since there is no such clause in the contract for the former Lille player, negotiations are more difficult, but the British tabloid also stated that Napoli does not view him as one of their “untouchable” players.
According to a statement on the website of The Mirror, “Napoli have actually been plotting to sell the Nigerian since last summer; their signings of Giacomo Raspadori and Giovanni Simeone – initially on loan deals – was with a long-term view to ease the blow of Osimhen’s departure.”
“That is not a given this summer, but president Aurelio De Laurentiis will authorize a sale if a bid beyond £140 million is received. Obviously, if Napoli’s position changes, this may be lowered, although they are amenable to a sale.”
