Man Utd left clear Osimhen path as European giants pull out

Carlo Garganese

• 7 Jan 2025 01:30 CST
• 4 min read

Manchester United have been left a clear path to sign Victor Osimhen after PSG pulled out of the race to sign the Nigerian star.

PSG had been United’s main contenders for Osimhen this month, with the club’s sporting director wanting to buy the Napoli-owned striker.

However, PSG manager Luis Enrique has insisted that the club do not buy a natural number nine and has won his internal battle.

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As a result, PSG will instead look to sign a winger in January.

This comes as good news for Man Utd, who are desperate to sign a number nine themselves this month.

Osimhen is regarded as their preferred target and according to reports in Nigeria this past weekend, including one in ThePapers, United are prepared to pay both Osimhen's release clause in his Napoli contract, as well as a compensation figure to Galatasaray.

The release clause at Napoli is valued at a figure believed to be between €75 million and €90m.

Meanwhile, Galatasaray are demanding compensation of €10m in order to allow Osimhen to end his loan spell there mid-season.

United are prepared to pay both, according to these reports, and Osimhen has also made it clear he wants to move to Old Trafford.

Napoli would like to sell Osimhen this month in order to fund a number of signings of their own.

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Galatasaray are less keen, naturally, but are powerless to let Osimhen to leave if United meet the release clause.

Osimhen to Galatasaray on loan

Osimhen joined Galatasaray last summer on loan for the season from Napoli until June 2025.

It is a dry loan with Galatasaray simply covering his salary from September until June at a cost of €10 million.

He has enjoyed a fantastic start to the season with Galatasaray, already scoring 13 goals in 16 games.

The attacker had spent the entire summer searching for a new club and sacked his agent when this wasn’t forthcoming.

The 26-year-old had been frozen out of the squad at Napoli, with no chance of being reintegrated under new manager Antonio Conte.

Instead of spending the entire first half of the season training on his own, Osimhen opted to join Galatasaray on loan.

Osimhen saw his relationship with Napoli sour last season, following the TikTok scandal in which the club’s own social media team mocked his penalty miss with Bologna.

Osimhen had a largely difficult season on the pitch, while Napoli endured a disastrous defence of the Scudetto they won in the 2022-23 season as they finished 10th in Serie A.

The Nigerian had been a key player in the Scudetto campaign, scoring 26 league goals in 32 games.