Man Utd ruled out signing Osimhen 'because of Afcon'

The Africa Cup of Nations schedule is a major reason why Manchester United did not try to sign Victor Osimhen, according to the club's former first-team coach Benni McCarthy.

Nigeria striker Osimhen attracted attention from Europe's elite sides after scoring 26 league goals in 2022-23 to help fire Napoli to a first Italian title in 33 years.

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McCarthy, who at the time was part of the Old Trafford staff under then manager Erik ten Hag, has revealed he played a role in the recruitment of strikers and thought Osimhen would "fit perfect" with the Red Devils.

But the biennial staging of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), which regularly falls in the middle of the European season, meant United switched to other targets despite Osimhen initially being "at the top of the list".

"If you spend £100m on a player, you don't want to lose him for Afcon," McCarthy told Newsday on the BBC World Service.

"I think he would have been very successful there. But it [Afcon] was a big stumbling block.

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"Losing him for so many important matches, the team suffers not having the main striker there.

"So the decision was made. Literally [a] big part was because of the Afcon and Victor Osimhen's name got scratched off - not a player of interest because of that."

United instead signed Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta for £72m in August 2023, with the Denmark international scoring 26 goals in 95 appearances before joining Napoli on loan last September.

Osimhen, meanwhile, was named African footballer of the year in 2023 but left Napoli to join Galatasaray on loan in September 2024, and the 27-year-old then sealed a permanent switch to the Turkish giants last July.

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The story of Victor Osimhen's transfer saga

'Dedicated' Ten Hag planned to be at United 10 years – McCarthy

Handling the 'noise' at United

McCarthy felt that Osimhen would be "a great asset" under Ten Hag, and that the striker would have been able to handle the pressure associated with playing for United.

"He scores goals, he works exceptionally hard, and he's a player [who is] immune to the noise," added South Africa's record goalscorer.

"Playing for Man Utd won't have a lot of effect on him because of what the boy has gone through [in] his life. Where he comes from, he's seen way worse than this.

"Him not scoring for five games in a row won't affect him. He'll just keep going on because he knows what struggle is about."

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Yet the timing of Afcon, which has predominantly taken place in January and February in recent years, ultimately scuppered any deal.

"[It] made me kind of sad as well because, my whole career, I fought to represent my country because I'm African," McCarthy added.

Avoiding Afcon's club vs country clash

The issue of clubs being reticent to spend big money on top African players could be less prevalent in the future because the Confederation of African Football (Caf) has announced that Afcon will become a quadrennial tournament from 2028.

Caf president Patrice Motsepe said the decision has been taken in conjunction with world governing body Fifa so that the international calendar can "be significantly more synchronised".

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McCarthy, who is now in charge of 2027 Afcon hosts Kenya and recently released his autobiography, believes the tournament should have retained its traditional biennial schedule in order to give more exposure to talent on the continent, but that more should have been done to prevent the finals from clashing with club competitions.

"I think Caf could work better with Fifa and the European community, Uefa, on when [to] stage these tournaments so that it doesn't jeopardise players' careers," said the 48-year-old.

"You [play] the tournament during the time where there's a scheduled break in the league, or you do it in the June-July window where the season is finished.

"But then again, players get no break, no holiday - nothing.

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"I think for me that is probably the best scenario because a lot of clubs look at not wanting African players, because you lose those players to the Afcon for a month.

"I think it should have stayed [every] two years, but they should just [play] it in the time where [it] doesn't clash with clubs."

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