The Peoples Person
·24 décembre 2024
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Yahoo sportsThe Peoples Person
·24 décembre 2024
Manchester United are short on firepower with all three of their forwards flattering to deceive this season and it is clear to see that Ruben Amorim needs help.
Joshua Zirkzee, given the opportunity to start in the game against Bournemouth after an impressive cameo against Tottenham Hotspur, failed to take his chance.
Substitute Rasmus Hojlund also has not set the stage alight and both young strikers look better off the bench than when starting, highlighting how the Portuguese tactician needs a readymade option up front.
Marcus Rashford has already declared his desire to leave his boyhood club, something that has not pleased the head coach nor the dressing room and INEOS have left it to Amorim to decide his fate.
The former Sporting Lisbon boss has dropped him for three games in a row and even though it is affecting his market value, the coach will be backed by the new hierarchy.
The club is interested in a replacement with Victor Osimhen’s name doing the rounds recently. The Nigerian is expected to cost €75 million.
He has been on fire since his loan move to Galatasaray, scoring 12 goals in 15 games across all competitions while registering five assists with his coach terming him the best striker in Europe currently.
Napoli are desperate to sell Osimhen and a January deal is possible as per TBR Football but United do not have the funds to pay the Serie A side in the winter owing to the huge payoff to Erik ten Hag and the amount needed to prise Amorim away from Lisbon.
However, that does not mean any deal is dead in the water with the report detailing that the Naples outfit are open to a swap deal with three United stars of interest to Antonio Conte.
Both Zirkzee and Hojlund have starred in Italy for Bologna and Atalanta and Conte feels they could be a great fit. The Italian is also an admirer of Rashford’s talents and they could ask for the 27-year-old as well.
“Manchester United have been approached with the chance to sign Victor Osimhen and the club’s footballing department, currently led by Joe Wilcox, are assessing their options, sources have told TBR Football.
“Now, through intermediaries, United have been offered the chance to sign Osimhen, however, the Red Devils are not in a position to do a straight £60 million deal.
“There could be a way around that though as TBR Football has learned that Napoli would consider taking a player in exchange for the 25-year-old. The Italian club hold an interest in three United attackers.
“Hojlund and Zirkzee are both of interest to Antonio Conte’s team having previously impressed in Serie A. The former did well at Atalanta, meanwhile, Zirkzee scored 12 goals in Italy’s top flight last term. Rashford is also available to leave Manchester and is a player the Azzurri admire.”
Moving Rashford on would be the best fit currently as he seems to be ready to jump ship but Zirkzee is another who could be let go, as he is desperate for more minutes, with Juventus another of his admirers.
Whether United would have to pay a separate fee on top of a player exchange remains to be seen. As per Transfermarkt, Osimhen’s value is more than all three United stars. His wages of €192,308 per week (via capology) should not be a major hurdle for the Red Devils especially if they can get one of their attackers off the wage bill.
Apart from United, Aston Villa and Chelsea have also been offered the chance to sign Osimhen. It will be intriguing to see if United can recruit the 25-year-old this winter.
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