Man Utd ‘really like’ £100m striker but Ronaldo has created ‘difficult situation’

Manchester United “really like” Napoli striker Victor Osimhen but will unlikely be able to bring him to Old Trafford during the January transfer window, according to CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs.

The Serie A side have no intention of letting the 23-year-old Red Devils target leave mid-season, despite him seemingly being on Erik ten Hag’s radar.

Manchester United transfer news – Victor Osimhen

Back in October, Transfer insider Dean Jones revealed in his GiveMeSport column that United have been monitoring Osimhen for some time and he could eventually be brought to Carrington as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, while claiming any deal could cost around £100m.

However, Jones added that a move in January would be almost impossible, and last month Fabrizio Romano issued a similar warning to GMS, stating that the Nigerian international wouldn’t be available in the coming transfer window.

What has Ben Jacobs said about Victor Osimhen?

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jacobs confirmed that United are indeed big fans of Osimhen, but once again reiterated the difficulty of striking a deal in January.

He further elaborated that Cristiano Ronaldo’s abrupt exit has left United in a “difficult” position, because a number of their strategic targets – such as Osimhen – won’t be available next month, when the Red Devils would ideally sign a replacement for the Portugal legend.

It was announced last month that Ronaldo had left Old Trafford by mutual consent, as reported by Sky Sports.

Jacobs told GMS: “Osimhen has been linked with Manchester United, certainly a player they really like. But it’s challenging because he’s extremely happy at Napoli and a midseason sale will certainly not be on the cards there, so Manchester United will have to be a bit more patient.

“And this is why strategically the Ronaldo situation has maybe put them in a more difficult position, because they’re going to have to escalate the need to find somebody as soon as possible, when actually some of their strategic targets will require two windows, not one, in order to get them. So we’re going to have to see whether United look for a stop-gap or a shorter-term option, knowing that a name like Osimhen simply wouldn’t be available within the January window.”

Victor Osimhen’s stats

Osimhen has been in prolific form since moving to Napoli from Lille in 2020. As per Transfermarkt, the 6 foot 1 forward has gone on to score 38 goals in 76 appearances, including 10 goals in just 14 outings this season.

Osimhen also boasts 15 goals in 23 games for the Nigerian national team.

Looking a little deeper, Whoscored notes that Osimhen has averaged 4.4 goals, 1.1 key passes and 2.3 successful aerial duels per match in Serie A this season.

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