MANCHESTER United will have the chance to sign Victor Osimhen in January in a deal with Napoli that would see one of Joshua Zirkzee or Marcus Rashford head in the opposite direction.
Ruben Amorim has endured a mixed spell so far at Old Trafford, overseeing four wins, one draw and four losses during his tenure in England, but he will hope that his side can beat Wolverhampton Wanderers on Boxing Day.
The Portuguese boss has inherited several issues from previous boss Erik ten Hag, who struggled to get his squad to find the back of the net consistently.
To add to Amorim’s problems, his relationship with Rashford appears to be beyond repair following the forward’s announcement that he intends to seek a move away from Old Trafford.
However, TBR Football reported that Rashford could be part of an exchange deal with Napoli for Osimhen in January given United lack the funds to do a straight £60m deal.
The 25-year-old is currently on loan from Napoli at Galatasaray after he was frozen out in Italy when a permanent transfer failed to materialise in the summer.
Osimhen scored 10 league goals in his first Serie A season with Napoli in 2020-21, before increasing that figure to 14 in 2021-22 and 26 in 2022-23.
The Nigerian forward’s 2023-24 season was disrupted by injury, but despite only starting 22 Serie A games he still managed to find the back of the net 15 times while also producing three assists.
In the Turkish Super Lig, Osimhen has already scored nine times and registered three assists in just 754 league minutes, with his goals helping fire Galatasaray to the top of the table.
Considering United have only scored 21 times in 17 Premier League matches this season, it is clear that someone of Osimhen’s calibre would be of benefit to Amorim.
United’s record in front of goal in the league this season is alarming considering 14 clubs have scored more than them in the top flight, while 17th-placed Leicester City have also found the back of the net 21 times.
Bruno Fernandes and Rashford are the Red Devils’ joint-highest scorers in the Premier League with four goals each, but Zirkzee and Hojlund have only scored five league goals between them.
The club’s underlying metrics are also poor, with United having only generated the 10th highest xG figure in the Premier League, as well as having only produced the joint ninth most big chances.
In fact, the Red Devils are on track to score just 46 goals, a return that would be their lowest total since 1989–90 when United finished 13th.