It is natural for Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim to want a ruthless finisher in the summer given the options at his disposal currently and their form.
Rasmus Hojlund was expected to improve in his sophomore campaign. Instead, he has managed only two goals in the Premier League this season and is without a goal in 16 consecutive games now.
As for summer signing Joshua Zirkzee, the Dutchman has blown hot and cold all campaign and it is clear to see that he excels when linking up play but is not a natural No 9, something Amorim even admitted recently.
Amad is out for the season while Alejandro Garnacho has missed the most big chances for the club. With Marcus Rashford not expected to return to his boyhood club, Amorim is desperately short on quality in the attacking areas.
Osimhen is United’s top summer target
Victor Osimhen is reportedly United’s top summer target with the Nigerian open to making the switch in the summer. He is currently on loan at Galatasaray, where he has 20 goals and five assists in 26 games.
The 26-year-old is expected to return to his parent club Napoli in the summer and his future remains up in the air with lots of suitors chasing his signature.
And the sharpshooter has made it clear that he wants to play in the Champions League next season and also does not intend to take a wage cut should he move on.
And as per Fabrizio Romano, the Nigeria international earns £413,000-per-week at Naples, something INEOS would struggle to match. They have already initiated a process of moving on their highest earners as seen from Rashford and Antony’s departures.
With Champions League football also looking like a pipe dream at the moment, barring a miracle in the Europa League, Osimhen might be beyond reach if the Italian journalist is to be trusted.
Speaking on GIVEMESPORT‘s ‘Market Madness‘, Romano stated, “It really depends on the budget for Manchester United. Now, we enter into that moment of the year in February, March, April, where we have a lot of links.
“But then it’s important for Manchester United to understand how much they can really spend on a striker in the summer window, because they really like [Victor] Osimhen, they really like Gyokeres too. There are several players they appreciate.
Wage demands way too high
“But then you have to be able to put the money on the table, and to answer the first part of your question about Osimhen eventually accepting Manchester United – my answer is, remember what happened last summer with Chelsea and with more clubs.
“Osimhen wants the same contract that he has at Napoli in terms of salary, so he will not go below the expectations, and it’s something around €12 million net per season (£413,000-per-week).
“So the salary is also a big topic, and we know it’s financially not an easy moment for Manchester United. So, if Manchester United will have the budget available then for sure, Osimhen is a player on their list – but at the moment, they are still not sure of what they can do.”
The co-owners do plan to move on plenty of stars in order to raise capital but Napoli will demand at least £63 million for Osimhen. Whether INEOS can afford such an expensive outlay on top of the humongous wages remains to be seen.
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
