Despite strengthening during the summer transfer window, Manchester United’s struggles in front of goal have continued unabated in the current campaign.
Last season, they were the lowest scorers among the top six teams in the Premier League with only Marcus Rashford netting double-digit goals.
That forced manager Erik ten Hag to prioritise the arrival of a new striker and Rasmus Hojlund has certainly hit the ground running in the Champions League, with two goals in as many games.
United’s woes upfront
However, the Dane has yet to open his account in the league while the Mancunian has struggled to replicate the form that he showed in the manager’s first season.
The Dutchman cannot count upon Anthony Martial and thus, it is imperative that the club bring in a proven goalscorer, something Ten Hag had wanted in the summer as well.
United ended up missing out on Harry Kane and thus turned their attention towards Hojlund. One player who was being eyed in the summer was Serie A winner Victor Osimhen of Napoli.
However, he was deemed too expensive and ultimately the player reaffirmed his wish to remain in Naples for the current season and United were forced to look elsewhere.
However, despite his on-field heroics, off-field treatment from the club, especially on social media has disappointed the player and there are chances that he might leave next summer.
Napoli have already put on the table a new contract offer which will take his time at the club to 2028 and will make him one of the highest-paid players in the league.
Osimhen interest remains
However, the 24-year-old is yet to agree to the deal and Chelsea, United, and Real Madrid continue to lurk as per Calciomercato. The new deal is expected to contain a fixed release clause to facilitate a smooth transfer.
“Many European clubs have had the former Lille player in their sights for some time. First of all Chelsea, but also Manchester United and Real Madrid, all big clubs ready to do crazy things from an economic point of view to snatch Victor Osimhen from Napoli.”
Whether the notoriously difficult-to-deal-with Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis relents is a whole different ball game. He is expected to make it very difficult for the Nigerian to leave.
And if a sale is agreed upon, most likely it will be for a record sum, even though the player only has two years left on his current deal.