We like a bit of culture at Sport Witness, at least from time to time, and that’s why Il Mattino’s introduction to an article involving Manchester United and Victor Osimhen caught our eye on Tuesday morning.
Journalist Bruno Majorano starts off with: “No wax in the ears. Victor Osimhen is like Ulysses. He wants to listen to the song of the sirens. We just have to understand if Napoli will tie him to the mast of the ship helmed by Luciano Spalletti, or if they will let him go. The temptation is the English one, that is the Premier League which represents the great Eden of modern football.”
Odyssey references aside, what we take away from this is that the Nigerian striker wants to see what’s out there for him this summer, and that will be Manchester United.
They won’t be the only ones, of course, as many other clubs around Europe will want to try and sign the in-form goalscorer, but the Red Devils are the team mentioned in this particular article.
It’s stated that Osimhen’s name has ‘been in the notebook of Manchester United managers for a while’, and further explained those talking to the player, or at least his agent, ‘make him feel important’ and ‘would be really ready to put on Napoli’s table what Don Vito Corleone would have called an offer that cannot be refused’.
How much would that be? Il Mattino answer that question: ‘€150m, no less’.
That’s the minimum figure, and it pointed out that anything under that, and Aurelio De Laurentiis and Cristiano Giuntoli ‘wouldn’t even sit down in a chair to start talking’.
This is because they both know Osimhen, to Manchester United and any other club, is worth it today, but also will be tomorrow, and the many days after that, meaning that if a team really want him, ‘they will have to show up at Castel Volturno with a mountain of money’.
Over in Naples, they want to keep him, as they don’t need to sell this summer, already having a nice amount of money in their coffers from their Champions League run and past sales.
While ‘the interest from the very rich owners of the English clubs is welcome’, the focus currently is on winning Serie A, and then ‘who knows’?
They then ask: “Could the destination be Manchester? Maybe. Those of United are historically defined as Red Devils. Devils in fact: the tempters par excellence.”
