Victor Osimhen: Man Utd face old Napoli transfer problem

Jacque Talbot

• Updated: 2 Mar 2023 19:20 GMT
• 3 min read

Manchester United may face a tough test in luring Victor Osimhen from Napoli in the summer window.

The brilliant season of the southern Italian side means they now have a number of high-value players among their ranks - and they won’t be selling them all.

Osimhen, Kvicha Kvaratskhelia and Kim Min-Jae are on the books of the Partenopei, with many clubs interested in purchasing them.

READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE: Kouadio Kone set for €40m Premier League move

In fact, Corriere dello Sport reports that Luciano Spalletti’s side has now doubled in value.

It has emboldened chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis to state that he is not too worried about losing his players ahead of the upcoming window

“I had predicted we would have a great season. When you have the same players for a long time, they tend to lose motivation,” he told TNT Mexico.

“These new players have proved to be reliable. The thing that I like is that this side goes beyond single players. We’ve been in Europe for 14 years and I think we are the only one in Italy and it was nice to find players like Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi, and Gonzalo Higuain.”

“The fact that we now have Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia, Kim and other players in midfield means this team will last in time.”

“I am very good at making contracts, so when they come to me, they are blocked, so keeping them here won’t be difficult. However, never say never. Sometimes there are offers you can’t refuse, so you never know.“

Napoli - shrewd operators

It is reported that even Stanislav Lobotka is expected to fetch somewhere in the region of €70 million if Napoli allow him to move on.

This will not doubt provide huge leverage for Napoli in keeping hold of Osimhen - or at least cause clubs to pay an excessive fee for the striker.

Gonzalo Higuain is the club’s record sale - with Juventus paying the full €90m release clause in 2016.

Edinson Cavani’s move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2013 was €64.5m and Chelsea paid €57m for Jorginho in 2018.

More recently, Kalidou Koulibaly left to Chelsea for €40m at the age of 31 after eight seasons with Napoli.