Ex-Manchester United coach says AFCON schedule saw club ditch Victor Osimhen pursuit | OneFootball

Former Manchester United coach Benni McCarthy has revealed the club opted against signing Victor Osimhen due to The Africa Cup of Nations schedule.

Manchester United were linked with signing Osimhen from Napoli in 2023, after the forward had fired the Italian side to Serie A title success.

Osimhen was the league's leading scorer in that success, to earn Serie A's Footballer of the Year Award. The triumph was Napoli's first league title in 33 years.

The Nigerian scored 76 goals in 133 games for Napoli and has continued to score prolifically since moving toGalatasaray. He has netted 52 times in 64 appearances for the Turkish side, including six in this season's Champions League.

Having decided against pursuing Osimhen, United instead signed Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta for a fee of £72m. The Denmark international struggled to live up to expectations at Old Trafford, scoring only 14 goals across twoPremier League campaigns, and is currently on loan at Napoli.

McCarthy was part of the club's coaching staff at the time, working under former manager Erik ten Hag. The South African has revealed how Osimhen was the 'top' name on the club's original striker shortlist, but that AFCON was a 'stumbling block'.

Concerns about his mid-season absence to compete at the tournament persuaded the club's recruitment team to look elsewhere.

"If you spend £100m on a player, you don't want to lose him for Afcon," McCarthy revealed to theBBC.

"I think he would have been very successful there. But it [Afcon] was a big stumbling block.

"Losing him for so many important matches, the team suffers not having the main striker there.

"So the decision was made. Literally [a] big part was because of the Afcon and Victor Osimhen's name got scratched off - not a player of interest because of that."