Journalist Tyrone Marshall believes Manchester United should target Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
Erik ten Hag is keen to add a striker to his squad following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and the club have been linked with moves for the likes of Cody Gakpo and Joao Felix.
However, Osimhen is a name that has recently been mentioned as one that United could look at, although a January deal seems unlikely.
Speaking on the Manchester is Red podcast, Marshall was asked who his top target would be for United as a striker to replace Ronaldo, and claimed that as Osimhen was a natural No 9, he should be the first choice.
He said: “Maybe Osimhen. Osimhen looks like the one in Europe who is going to get the attention in the summer. He looks the one most suited to the Premier League, he looks the most natural No 9.
“There’s very few natural No 9s about these days, which is why we’re talking about players like Gakpo and [Rafael] Leao as options who don’t fill that role.
“On what you’ve seen him do this season and his record in recent seasons, you’d probably have Osimhen at the top of the list.”
TIF Thoughts on Osimhen and United…
Based on Marshall’s comments, there seems to be little chance Napoli will let their star striker leave in January, and given they are currently eight points clear at the top of Serie A as they chase down a historic title, that may be no surprise. However, if a deal can be done in the summer, we feel United should pursue the 23-year-old.
The Nigerian, who supposedly has a price tag of €120m (£103m), has scored 38 goals in 76 games for Napoli since joining from Lille in 2020 and has proven himself as a capable goalscorer to lead the line.
Ranking in the top 3% of European strikers for goals and shots over the past year, he is arguably one of the best No 9s around, and unlike some of United’s other targets, is an out-and-out centre-forward rather than a winger.
He would be able to play in place of as well as alongside Marcus Rashford, and ranking in the top 11% of strikers for attacking penalty area touches shows how useful he can be on the ball in the final third.
Should he make the move to Old Trafford, we think he would represent a statement signing for Ten Hag as he leads United through the post-Ronaldo era.