Victor Osimhen’s rejection of Al Hilal has sparked hope of a move to Manchester United, according to reports.
The Nigeria international has had a turbulent few years in the transfer market, but his quality has never been in doubt. From a fallout with Napoli and her fans after leading them to their first Serie A title in 33 years to a breakdown in transfer dealings with Chelsea in the summer before the 2024/25 season, the former VfL Wolfsburg striker has been the source of the biggest discussions in transfer news headlines in the last three seasons.
In that time, clubs in Saudi Arabia have tried to snag him to no avail. They tried again recently after his loan stint with Galatasaray ran out following the completion of the 2024/25 season, in which he led them to the Turkish league title as the top scorer with 26 goals from 30 appearances. The latest Saudi club to be turned down is Al Hilal, who offered him £25.6 million per season and had reportedly struck a deal with Napoli over his transfer.
Osimhen has made it clear that he wants to remain in Europe but is also not willing to compromise on his salary, which is considered astronomical by the clubs interested in his signature. Galatasaray keeps trying to secure his services for at least another season, but it looks likely that the striker will be heading to a club in the top five European Leagues.
As stated earlier, none of them are willing to match his wage demands. However, reports claim that Manchester United may be thinking about it.
Ruben Amorim has made it clear that there will be an overhaul of the club, and quite a few names have been earmarked for a move. Among them are Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, and Rasmus Højlund, whose transfers are now being touted as being the way in for Osimhen.
United have already signed Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers and are at the negotiation table with Brentford for Bryan Mbeumo, who could cost them around £60 million. Should any or all of the aforementioned United players earmarked for an exit from the club actually leave, they could revisit the Osimhen transfer.
The key reason for this, more than their squad overhaul, is that their main striker target for the summer, Liam Delap, chose Chelsea instead. They don’t count on Højlund, and their other target, Viktor Gyökeres, is also proving a difficult acquisition.
