Man Utd 'far behind' in transfer hunt as striker's decision timeframe emerges

Victor Osimhen continues to attract strong interest from many top European clubs, with at least eight teams showing concrete interest in the Napoli striker in recent weeks, TEAMtalk can confirm – but one of two certainties about his decision-making process has put Manchester United far away from pole position.

Osimhen enjoyed last season on loan at Galatasaray, where he scored 37 goals from 41 appearances. It was the highest-scoring season of his career, which means he remains a highly attractive option for a lot of clubs looking for a new striker ahead of his return to Napoli.

A breakdown in relations with Napoli – where he previously scored 76 goals in 133 appearances – led to his temporary spell with Galatasaray. But now, as his contract with Napoli approaches its final 12 months, Osimhen’s future is all to play for.

TEAMtalk can confirm that in addition to Galatasaray’s obvious desire to try and keep Osimhen on a permanent basis, seven other European clubs – including three from the Premier League – are interested in the Nigeria international striker.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are the English trio keeping tabs on Osimhen, while Juventus, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are all also interested.

However, at this stage, there is no clear favourite. Osimhen is not in a rush to decide, as also demonstrated with the Al Hilal affair.

Osimhen recently rejected an offer by the Saudi Pro League side, who were willing to buy him from Napoli.

Now, the 26-year-old centre-forward wants to carefully evaluate each club’s sporting project, alongside the financial offers on the table.

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Key Osimhen condition derails Man Utd

One key condition for Osimhen is playing in the Champions League – as revealed months ago. Because of this, Man Utd and AC Milan – neither of whom have European football of any variety on offer next season – are far behind in the hierarchy unless the player changes his mind in the coming weeks.

But that’s not all, there is another certainty in Osimhen’s future: no final decision will be made soon. That’s why it is even possible that Victor will start pre-season training with Napoli on July 15. This would give him more time to consider his future and the different opportunities available calmly.

Napoli, for their part, remain firm on the financial conditions for his farewell. That is, for non-Italian clubs, Osimhen can be signed only by triggering his €75m (£63.8m/$86.7m) release clause.

Meanwhile, for Juve (and possibly also for AC Milan, even if, as stated, it is an absolutely unlikely scenario at things stand) there will have to be a direct club-to-club negotiation.

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