Manchester United
Premier League • England
Man Utd learn transfer truths on Kylian Mbappe deal as £60m offer for lethal Plan B comes to light
Manchester United are reportedly ready to make a move for a Serie A striker as a much more realistic option than PSG superstar Kylian Mbappe.
Reports have emerged over the last 24 hours that the Red Devils are considering an attempt to lure the France forward to Manchester to fill the expected void left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s imminent exit.
The United legend has caused huge controversy following his bombshell interview with Piers Morgan.
His damning interview has lit the blue touch paper. Indeed Ronaldo has criticised Erik ten Hag, the Glazers and the club as a whole.
Former United teammates have also got it in the neck. Both Wayne Rooney and Gary Neville have been taken to the cleaners by their old colleague.
Given everything that has been said, it appears only a matter of time before an acrimonious exit occurs.
And with Ronaldo gone, the Red Devils will have a hole to fill in their attack – even if the Portuguese is no longer a regular starter.
The Daily Mirror are mooting a superstar for superstar swap in the shape of Mbappe moving to Old Trafford.
However, there are two major issues with any transfer for the 23-year-old at the current time.
Firstly, his price tag is in excess of £150million. Meanwhile, his wage would also be more than Ronaldo’s current £500,000-a-week deal.
Erik ten Hag is also trying to create more of a ‘team’ culture at the club rather than an ‘individual’ one. And while adding Mbappe’s quality to United would be huge, it could also create tensions within the squad over his salary and status within the game.
Prolific Napoli hitman a more viable option
To that end, Ten Hag is expected to focus on landing Napoli’s Victor Osimhen as a cheaper alternative.
The Nigeria international is enjoying another strong campaign with the Serie A club. He has already scored 10 times in 14 games in all competitions so far.
His overall record in Naples is 38 in 76 appearances, meaning he scores a goal every two games.
Osimhen, who has also notched 15 times in 22 caps for Nigeria, will also come significantly cheaper than Mbappe. Indeed, he is expected to cost in the region of £60m.
United are not the only interested party, however. Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool have also been linked with the powerful forward.
At this stage, it’s also unclear whether or not United will try and sign Osimhen in January or next summer.
The latter option appears much more likely, given that the Italian club are still in the Champions League and will not want to sell.
United are not back in action until December 21 when they host Burnley in the Carabao Cup last 16.