Man Utd target Osimhen tipped to leave Napoli by Nigeria manager

FT Desk

• 11 Nov 2022 09:57 CST
• 3 min read

Napoli will struggle to hold onto Manchester United transfer target Victor Osimhem according to his Nigeria manager Jose Peseiro.

Man Utd are in the market for a striker with Cristiano Ronaldo's second spell at Old Trafford drawing to a close, and Osimhen has emerged as their primary transfer target.

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting has been floated as a solution by Erik ten Hag and Co., the Cameroon striker having filled Robert Lewandowski's boots admirably at Bayern Munich this season, but he is 10 years Osimhen's senior.

READ: How Man Utd could line up with Victor Osimhen

Osimhen, still just 23, has hit nine goals in 13 games this season, firing Napoli to the top of Serie A and UEFA Champions League Group A ahead of Liverpool, and the Italians could struggle to hold onto him even if his current contract runs until June 2025.

"Right now I don't think I'm wrong saying every team in the world wants to buy him," Nigeria manager Jose Peseiro told Tuttomercatoweb. "He can press, he can score, he can use his body. He'd know how to play in any team.

Keeping him won't be easy

"Keeping a player like this for Napoli won't be easy given his value and the interest he'll have. He's a complete centre-forward. He makes assists, scores with his right, left, he knows how to press and isn't easy to defend for a centre-back.

READ: Man Utd's transfer plans: Next steps of Ten Hag's overhaul revealed

"In June, in the summer, I believe Napoli will ask for many millions for him, and I think a lot of clubs will offer it. He's young and still has great potential."

Osimhen is currently rated at €43 million by Football Transfers' in-house algorithm but Napoli reportedly want €100m for the player they signed for €70m from Lille in September 2020.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, which might have further boosted Osimhen's value, but the flip side is that he is less likely to be injured in the second half of the season.