Manchester United have made contact with Napoli to know the asking price for Victor Osimhen, Corriere dello Sport (today’s edition, page 21) claims.
The Red Devils are actively on the hunt for a new centre-forward. The focus could be on purchasing a young striker with the room for improvement.
Osimhen has been one of the names linked with United, and Corriere dello Sport claim that the club have now made an enquiry over the price tag.
In response, Napoli have set a fee of €110 million (£94m), but they are willing to negotiate.
Our view:
Osimhen has had a good season at Napoli, registering 17 goals and six assists from 30 games. He has achieved those statistics, either side of a two-month break with an injury.
Without the disruption, the Nigerian could have had a much-better campaign. Hence, there are no surprises that Napoli value him highly, but United should be wary of spending big.
The 23-year-old’s main strengths are his aerial ability and finishing skills. He is more of a traditional number nine, who is not the best when it comes to his distribution.
His qualities can be compared to Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku, who has had a tough return to the Premier League this term (14 goals), having netted 30 times for Inter last season.
With Osimhen yet to reach his potential, it does not appear worthwhile to make such a huge outlay on him, and United could look at an alternative option such as Darwin Nunez.
Nunez has been in superb form for Benfica with 34 goals this campaign. He has shone at the highest stage, having scored against Ajax, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Liverpool in Europe.
He netted in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final tie against Liverpool on the counter-attack which gives a good reflection of his excellent pace and mobility on the field.
The 22-year-old could be available for a similar transfer package this summer. He could be a better fit over Osimhen, who has not netted over 13 goals in a league season thus far.
