Victor Osimhen may well be “waiting for Manchester United” but a Euro giant has ‘refreshed the channel with his agents’ in a bid to land the Nigeria international this summer.
Osimhen was hugely impressive on loan at Galatasary from Napoli last term, scoring 37 goals in 41 appearances for the Turkish giants, but now wants a permanent move.
Chelsea’s interest in the 26-year-old has died down since their £30m signing of Liam Delap, but United remain interested having been beaten to the Ipswich striker by the Blues.
Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand claimed on Wednesday that Osimhen “must be waiting for” his former club.
“No.9, they already know who I want. The comments know, the people know who I want, who I would go and get: Osimhen!” Ferdinand said.
“It looks like he’s turned down Al-Hilal… he must be waiting for Manchester United.
“I don’t know if Manchester United are going to come. That’s the problem.”
But according to Italian outlet Gazzetta, it’s Juventus who are pushing to get the deal done as manager Igor Tudor has Osimhen’s ‘name underlined in red’.
The report claims Tudor is ‘otpimistic’ about Randal Kolo Muani prolonging his stay after a successful six-month loan from PSG, but he wants another striker, with general manager Damien Comolli ‘continuing to move on several tables’.
The report states:
‘Comolli in recent days has refreshed the channel with the Osimhen agents and at the right time he will try the Aurelio De Laurentiis club.
‘The 75 million clause applies only to foreign countries and expires in mid-July. Juventus is there and playing its cards but at the same time it is aware that it is not running alone: from PSG to Al Hilal, from Galatasaray to the Premier League.’
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The news comes amid claims United could offer Juventus a boost in their bid to sign Osimhen having been offered the chance to sign Dusan Vlahovic from the Old Lady.
A report states that Valahovic’s camp have ‘approached’ United directly to see if they’re interested in signing him this summer.
It’s said he is ‘increasingly pushing’ for a move to the club, with Old Trafford his ‘dream destination’, with Vlahovic is motivated by the idea of working under Ruben Amorim and playing in a more ‘open, physically demanding league’.
United have held direct talks with the Serbian striker after the approach from his agent, as they ‘intensify efforts’ to land a ‘reliable’ No.9.
The talks have been described as ‘positive and instructive’ and Vlahovic could represent decent value for money with hthe Serie A giants reportedly wanting around €45m [£38.5m] for the 25-year-old.
Juventus beat Arsenal to his £67m signing from Fiorentina in January 2022, and while the Gunners have continued to keep tabs on his situation, seeing him as a cheap alternative to Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko,the Gunners have ‘concerns’ as to ‘whether he is going to be able to stay fit’ after his 11 separate, albeit minor, injury layoffs in his time at Juventus.
Transfer expert Ben Jacobs said: “There’s been concerns from a number of Premier Leagueclubs about Vlahovic – Arsenal, in particular, and Chelsea as well, who never advanced anything about Vlahovic specifically because of a chronic groin injury.
“Clubs want to be aware of whether or not they feel, should he come to the Premier League and its pace and physicality, whether he is going to be able to stay fit.”