Blockbuster Man Utd transfer slapped down to leave familiar face as Ten Hag’s No 1 striker target

The president of Napoli has fired Man Utd a stark warning over their potential pursuit of Victor Osimhen, with a striker much closer to home now looking like the primary option.

Wout Weghorst was drafted in on loan to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo in January. The Veteran Dutchman has performed admirably thus far, though it’s been widely reported a more high profile frontman will be signed in the summer.

Weghorst may yet do enough to earn a permanent move, though any such deal will have to be negotiated from scratch. His loan from Burnley does not contain an option to buy.

The Telegraph’s James Ducker insisted United must ‘sell well’ if they’re to sign the calibre of player Ten Hag craves at season’s end.

On that front, a £153m trio have reportedly been put up for sale. Among them is Anthony Martial and the French forward’s exit would signal a new striker is on the horizon.

The Telegraph reported on Tuesday night Ten Hag’s decision will come down to Victor Osimhen of Napoli or Tottenham’s Harry Kane. The respective cases for each striker were detailed here.

Both frontmen have been mentioned alongside £100m+ valuations, though according to Napoli’s president, Osimhen is priceless.

In fact, Aurelio De Laurentiis insisted his lethal hitman is “not up for sale”. What’s more, given Napoli reportedly have no debts, De Laurentiis is under no obligation whatsoever to cash in.

“Victor is not up for sale,” De Laurentiis told German publication BILD. “Our players are in high demand, but we are forced to sell nobody.

“We don’t have debts.”

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Osimhen dead end heightens Kane speculation

Of course, the president’s comments could be a simple case of posturing to inflate Osimhen’s price. Napoli are notoriously tough negotiators and given Osimhen cost a hefty €80m when signed from Lille in 2020, it stands to reason they’d want to drive up the price.

But if De Laurentiis’ comments are taken at face value and Napoli aren’t open for business, Man Utd’s gaze could simply switch to Kane.

At 29, he’d represent a shorter-term option. However, the Telegraph noted that due to Kane not relying on pace, Ten Hag believes he can get many world class years out of the Spurs legend deep into his 30s.

The issue on that front will stem from Tottenham being extremely reluctant to sell their talisman.

Kane recently surpassed Jimmy Greaves as the club’s all-time top goalscorer and securing a top four finish or winning the FA Cup would reportedly embolden him to stay.

His current deal expires in the summer of 2024 and even if a new contract isn’t signed, Spurs would greatly prefer selling to an overseas club over a domestic rival too.

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