Jose Mourinho has already warned Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag that Napoli star Victor Osimhen “needs to change” if he is to complete a move to the Premier League.
Signing a central striker is a priority for Ten Hag this summer and the Nigerian international heads the club’s striking shortlist. Osimhen has bagged 21 goals and counting for Napoli this season, as they look set to win their first Serie A title since 1990.
Osimhen spoke this week that it would be his “dream” to play in the Premier League as links with him moving to Old Trafford intensified. The striker’s form has been a key reason for the club being 15 points clear at the top of the Italian top-flight.
Osimhen is believed to be United’s primary target – over Tottenham striker Harry Kane – due to his age profile and his openness to a move to the Premier League, which was confirmed by his comments made after being named 'Best Foreign Athlete of the Year' by the Italian Foreign Press Association.
Osimhen said: "I think playing in one of the top five leagues in the world is an amazing feeling for me. A lot of people worldwide consider the Premier League as the best and the strongest league but now I'm in one of the best leagues in the world which is the Italian Serie A.
"I'm working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League someday but as I said, it's a process and I just want to keep on this momentum and continue to do well."
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However, Mourinho has already spoken of his concern about a possible move – although his motivations for doing so may not have been entirely in good faith. The Portuguese boss was speaking in late January after his side had lost to Napoli – with Osimhen predictably on the scoresheet.
Mourinho claimed that Osimhen dived too much, which is not a reputation that the Nigerian international has attracted. It was a warning that appeared to be a familiar distraction tactic by the Roma boss towards a striker whose upward trajectory is notable.
“He is of the same level as Drogba, but Didier didn’t dive,” Mourinho said after that match when asked to compare Osimhen to Didier Drogba, whom the Portuguese had coached at Chelsea.
“If Victor changes, then OK. I’d buy him if I was at a club with a lot of money. However, if he does go to England one day, he needs to change, because in Italy they put up with this sort of behaviour, whereas in the Premier League, they’d come down hard on him.”
Mourinho also added after that match, speaking of his brief chat with the striker: “I told him that he scored a wonderful goal and needs to stop diving so much.
"His goal was fantastic, he did the same thing when we met earlier this season, so he’s a fantastic player. But he must not dive.”
