Man United and Napoli assessing swap deal with Hojlund and Osimhen

Since Ruben Amorim arrived at Old Trafford last November, Manchester United's biggest problem has been scoring goals. The Red Devils, languishing 14th in the Premier League, are the sixth team to be the least on target - 33 goals in 27 matches - among the 20 clubs in the English top flight. The emergency in attack has prompted the club to look for solutions elsewhere.

Victor Osimhen has been targeted as the suitable candidate to start racking up the goals for the club. The Nigerian forward is currently on loan at Galatasaray and already has netted 20 times in 27 appearances for the Turkish side, putting him at the top of Man United's priority list for the upcoming summer transfer window. Osimhen is set to return to Napoli at the end of the season, though whether he will continue there remains uncertain.

His relationship with the Italian club took a hit after he started publicly declaring that he wanted to play in the Premier League. The 'Partenopei' froze Osimhen out of the squad before offloading him to Turkey last summer and replacing him by signing Romelu Lukaku, requested by new manager Antonio Conte. Although Napoli could only facilitate a dry loan to get rid of the player, they will be keen on selling him permanently whilst he still holds an elevated market value.

The 26-year-old has a €75 million release clause on his Napoli contract, but reports from England inform that Man United are ready to sacrifice one of their forwards to make the deal happen. While Conte's side negotiated for Alejandro Garnacho in the January transfer window, the Red Devils want to include Rasmus Hojlund in the deal for Osimhen. 

United are growing more and more frustrated with the underperforming Dane international after they splashed out €70 million to bring him to Old Trafford from Atalanta in 2023. Having scored only 7 goals this season, Hojlund is starting to lose Amorim's trust and often finds himself demoted to the bench to give space to fellow struggling striker Joshua Zirzkee.

A potential swap deal appears to solve the problems of everyone involved in the deal. On Manchester United's end, they would get a striker that can guarantee them goals and Osimhen would get his dream move to the Premier League. As for Napoli, they would finally be free of Osimhen, getting a replacement upfront who is also familiar with the league, while Hojlund would get the chance to revive his career in Italy.

 

February 28, 2025