Man Utd and Chelsea on high alert as Osimhen provides transfer update

Stuart Telford

• 22 Feb 2023 10:45 CST
• 3 min read

Victor Osimhen's goals are firing Napoli to a first Scudetto in 33 years, and his performances have attracted the interest of Manchester United and Chelsea.

Osimhen has emerged as one of the deadliest strikers in European football this season, hitting 18 goals in 19 Serie A games as well as adding another two from four appearances in the Champions League.

Man Utd and Chelsea are in the market for an elite-level No.9, meanwhile. Wout Weghorst is only an on-loan stop-gap for the Red Devils while Chelsea's incumbent Kai Havertz, a midfielder by trade, has just five Premier League goals to his name this season.

READ: Revealed: Napoli's asking price for Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia

Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis has previously slapped price tags in excess of €100 million on Osimhen and his Georgian partner in crime, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, but it is understood he is more willing to cash in on the former.

Osimhen previously reaffirmed his commitment to Napoli, but it seems he has grown more agnostic about staying at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona beyond the end of the season.

Osimhen: 'top clubs watching'

"When you're doing so well, top clubs around the world are watching, mostly in the top five leagues," Osimhen told ESPN. "And to be able to be attract interest from these top clubs shows that I'm doing great and it gives me the motivation to do even more for myself and my team.

"But I'm focused on Napoli right now and they have the final say. I just want to help my team to win matches and win trophies. At the end of the season, we'll see what's going to happen, but that's not up to me. It's for the club to decide."

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

Napoli made more than €80m from player sales last summer, cashing in on the likes of Kalidou Koulibaly and Fabian Ruiz - who joined Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain respectively - and they are debt free, which has become a relative rarity in Italy.

A club record fee for Osimhen is likely to force their hand, however.

Gonzalo Higuian's €90m move to Juventus in July 2016 remains their record sale. Osimhen is valued at €60m by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, but United and Chelsea - especially if they get embroiled in a bidding war - could end up paying twice that.