'Kane or nothing' - Man Utd target Osimhen not wanted by rivals

Stuart Telford

• 17 Feb 2023 12:47 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United could have a clean run at Victor Osimhen next summer with their transfer rivals having tunnel vision for Harry Kane.

Kane and Osimhen are two of the most in-demand strikers in world football at the moment, and both have been linked with Man Utd in recent months as they seek to plug a gap in their problem position at No.9.

United's 22-goal top scorer Marcus Rashford prefers lining up on the left flank, Cristiano Ronaldo had checked out long before his free transfer to Al Nassr, and Wout Weghorst, signed on loan from Burnley, is only an interim solution.

READ: Chelsea prepared to break transfer record for next Drogba

With the club set for a big money takeover bid, most likely from Qatar, they will be flush with cash imminently, and the asking prices for Kane or Osimhen are unlikely to faze the new owners.

Bayern Munich are looking for a long-term replacement for Robert Lewandowski, meanwhile, even if former Stoke flop Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has done an admirable job since the Pole left for Barcelona last summer - and they only want Kane.

READ: Kane would have been better for Man City than Haaland, says Henry

Bayern not in for Osimhen

"Pep [Guardiola] famously said 'Thiago or nothing' and Bayern Munich had to bring Thiago Alcantara in then," SportBild reported Christian Falk wrote in his CaughtOffside column. "In the sense of Bayern's pursuit of strikers, the same feeling could be applied to Harry Kane.

"If there's a chance to get Kane - Bayern will try. If there's no chance, perhaps there won't be a new striker at Bayern this summer, provided that Choupo-Moting signs a new contract because they've got back-up in Mathys Tel who has really impressed the club with his performances in training."

United will be pleased that Bayern aren't in the running for Osimhen, but Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are among the others who reportedly are, the Napoli man having lit of Serie A this season with a league-high 17 goals, with Luciano Spalletti's men closing on a first Scudetto for 33 years.