Erik ten Hag left Cristiano Ronaldo out of the starting XI for the second game in a row as his future at Manchester United remains uncertain.
A deal with Napoli has been discussed for the forward, with Victor Osimhen moving in the opposite direction.
Luciano Spalletti admitted he would love to manage the Manchester United star, and said the Serie A side’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has informed him that there has been no offer for Osimhen. His comments on the striker and the 37-year-old are relayed in today’s Italian papers, who then provide more updates on a potential deal involving the duo.
Manchester United want to sign an attacker before the window closes and Corriere dello Sport state they have been ‘in love’ with the Nigeria international for some time.
Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes, for his part, has done several European trips to find a new solution for his client. Among them are Napoli, who have kept the door open, to carry out a possible deal on their own terms.
They want €130m to sell the former Lille man to the Red Devils and take Ronaldo on free loan, with the Premier League side paying 80-85% of his salary during his loan stay at the Naples club.
For now, Ajax are the ‘real obstacle’ for him to return to Serie A. Ten Hag’s side are keen to sign Antony, but the Dutch club are reluctant to let him leave and have refused United’s €94m bid.
The great unknown is whether Ajax will be able to resist any further attempts from the Old Trafford club. If Ajax continue to block Antony’s move, then Osimhen’s odds to join United ‘will spike quickly’.
Although the latter’s agent has ruled out his exit, Gazzetta state there is a ‘clear opening’ to get a salary of around €10m net in Manchester. Before this stage is reached, there are a few other issues to be solved.
Mendes is already at work and insists that an offer from Manchester United for Osimhen is ‘imminent’. That’s according to Il Mattino, who explain Chelsea also want Ronaldo, along with Sporting.
Napoli are demanding most, if not all, of Ronaldo’s salary to be paid by the English club. Mendes says the Glazers would meet this demand because they would rather see their star in Italy than at Chelsea.
Il Mattino state: ‘It is not easy to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together but in any case Mendes is working on it. Night and day. Very difficult joints. Because if we only worked to bring Cristiano Ronaldo on loan to Napoli, it would really be an operation that is not impossible. But that’s not the case: Manchester United needs to put €140m on the plate for Osimhen (and Osimhen accepts the transfer, a detail not to be overlooked).’
The operation involving Ronaldo and Osimhen may not take shape if Manchester United end up signing Antony.
