Napoli star Victor Osimhen looks set to be at the centre of a major transfer battle in the summer as he continues to impress in Serie A. Premier League sides Chelsea and Manchester United are monitoring the Nigeria international with both clubs desperate to add a natural goal scorer to their squads ahead of the 2023/24 season, and Osimhen certainly is that.
After moving from Lille in the summer of 2020, Osimhen scored 28 goals in first two seasons in Italy, but he has exploded into life in this current campaign. After 23 Serie A games, Napoli sit top of the table on 62 points, 18 clear of their nearest challengers, having not won only three league outings.
Osimhen is also the league's top scorer having scored 17 heading into Napoli's Friday night clash against Sassuolo. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave Napoli the lead after just 12 minutes before Osimhen did what he does best and found the back of the net from a ridiculous angle with a powerful effort just beyond the half hour mark.
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Although Osimhen has not quite hit a one goal per game ratio, the 24-year-old missed four games earlier in the season and prior to that injury he had only scored twice. Since the middle of October, Osimhen has scored in every Serie A fixture for Napoli, minus two.
With that goal scoring record it is understandable that two clubs wanting a new striker have shown interest. That level of return also does not make Napoli's high price tag of their star forward that surprising.
According to the Mirror, Napoli will demand around £100million for their striker, but that valuation may only increase if he continues these performances.
Il Mattino, a Naples based newspaper, also reported that Manchester United tried to get ahead of the pack by enquiring over a move for Osimhen in January. Their report hints that the Red Devils were trying to get 'in pole position' for the summer instead of pushing for the deal to be completed in the winter window.
Both clubs have proven they are not afraid of parting with large sums to acquire players with Todd Boehly breaking the British transfer record to sign Enzo Fernandez. To bring in Osimhen it may have to be broken again but former Chelsea star Mario Melchiot has sent a clear message that the Blues must sign him.
"Osimhen, he could be expensive like crazy, but [Chelsea] have to go after someone that can deliver the goals, because if we don’t, we have a great team with great names, but nobody produces the goals," Melchiot told ESPN.
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