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By Ebenezer Bajela and Anthony Nlebem.
English Premier League giants, Manchester United, are reportedly willing to pay £107m to tempt Nigeria international Victor Osimhen away from Napoli.
The Nigerian striker, 24, has netted 16 goals in 17 league appearances this season as Luciano Spalletti’s side march towards the Serie A title.
And multiple sources in Italy claim United are ready to battle it out with big-spending Chelsea to sign him this summer.
The Devils have shown interest in the in-form striker since last summer but Napoli’s £130m request for the former Lille forward has been the stumbling block.
The Old Trafford outfit have been without an outright striker since the departure of Wayne Rooney in 2017 and only brought in Odion Ighalo and Edinson Cavani for a short-term fix in 2020.
The EPL giants are however desperate to bring in the Super Eagles striker to England and are ready to offer the sum of £107m to the Italian club.
Osimhen has been in fine form since his move to Italy and is currently the league’s top scorer with 16 Serie A goals this term, the most he has ever managed in a single season in his career.
Meanwhile, Italian tactician Gianluca Atzori has urged Napoli not to sell Osimhen amid intense interest from top clubs in England, France and Spain.
With his outstanding numbers in Serie A and the club’s standing, Atzori has advised the Napoli board to do everything to keep the Nigerian, noting that he would not let the Super Eagle leave for any fee.
“I would never let Osimhen go, even if in today’s football nobody is non-transferable,” Atzori told Napoli Magazine.
“The cycle can be opened, provided that good players integrate with the best in the squad.
“Then, if Napoli are good enough to let Osimhen leave and sign a better striker, hats off. But it’s not that easy.”
Osimhen scored a brace as Napoli dispatched Spezia 3-0 in a dominant display on Sunday and is now the fourth Napoli player to score 16 goals in the first 21 Serie A games of the season, following in the footsteps of Luis Vinicio in 1955/56, Edinson Cavani in 2012/13 and Gonzalo Higuain in 2015/16.