Man Utd keep Osimhen DREAM alive with €40m Garnacho decision

Robin Bairner

• 16 Jan 2025 14:15 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United retain a key figure in their hope of landing dream striker target Victor Osimhen after making a crucial decision over the future of Alejandro Garnacho.

Garnacho has found himself surprisingly up for sale by the Old Trafford side and has become a potentially important pawn as the Red Devils seek to sign Nigeria international striker Osimhen.

With Man Utd facing a potential PSR crisis in the summer, they have put ‘pure profit’ players, such as Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford and the Argentina international on the market.

But Sir Jim Ratcliffe is unwilling to allow these players to depart for any price as he has proven by knocking back a €40 million bid from Napoli for Garnacho, Gazzetta dello Sport reports.

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Victor Osimhen

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Galatasaray

Victor Osimhen

F (C)

Galatasaray

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Napoli seeking Kvaratskhelia replacement

Garnacho has been targeted by Napoli amid the Serie A side’s hunt for a replacement for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who will complete a move to PSG worth in the region of €70m.

They have so far been unwilling to match Man Utd’s rather hefty valuation of €70m for the 20-year-old winger, though.

For the moment, this is a problem for the Red Devils, with Napoli now cooling their interest on Garnacho to explore other targets. Bologna winger Dan Ndoye, who was linked briefly to the Premier League in the summer, is one of the players Antonio Conte’s side are considering.

But United may try to use their player as bait for Victor Osimhen, who has made it clear he wants to leave Napoli and is currently on loan at Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig. It’s a difficult deal for the Red Devils, as transfer expert Ben Jacobs outlined.

“Victor Osimhen is a Manchester United dream target but financially it’s very difficult, even with that release clause dropping to €75 million,” Jacobs told The United Stand.

A swap deal could be leveraged that would allow all parties to get what they want. By trading Garnacho for Osimhen, Man Utd would land their “dream” striker, while the Argentine would get to follow in the footsteps of the great Diego Maradona by turning out for the Naples outfit.

Such transfers are notoriously difficult to conclude, but in this instance there is a clear motivation for everyone involved so the possibility should not be dismissed, even with United having put a lofty valuation on their academy product.

The biggest hitch, though, is that such a move will likely need to wait until the summer.