According to reports, Liverpool have emerged as the ‘favourites’ in the race to sign Man Utd target Victor Osimhen from Serie A outfit Napoli.
Osimhen established himself as one of the best strikers in the world as he helped Napoli win the Serie A title during the 2022/23 campaign.
The 24-year-old scored 31 goals in 39 appearances for the Italian side and his performances have caught the attention of clubs around Europe.
Man Utd and Chelsea are known to be in the market for a new striker and they have been heavily linked with Osimhen in recent months.
While Chelsea are likely to sign Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal, Man Utd are not close to signing a new striker at this stage but they are understood to be looking at Randal Kolo Muani and Rasmus Hojlund.
Last week, it was reported that Osimhen’s ‘priority’ is to move to the Premier League if he leaves Napoli this summer and if La Gazzetta dello Sport are to be believed, Liverpool are now in the running for the Nigeria international.
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Jurgen Klopp’s side have apparently ‘chosen’ Osimhen as a top target and an offer could be made for him ‘in the coming days’. The report claims Napoli want as much as £154m for their prized asset this summer.
They make Liverpool ‘favourites’ out of the Premier League teams in the battle for Osimhen. The Reds are given a 20% chance of signing him, while Man Utd and Newcastle United are given a 5% chance each.
Napoli would reportedly ‘like to extend his stay or offload him at the right price’ and Klopp is in the market for a striker who can ‘make the difference’ for Liverpool.
This story really needs to be taken with a huge pinch of salt. While Liverpool may admire Osimhen, they are never going to spend £154m on just one player. This is clear after they dropped out of the running for Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham.
They are also already well-covered in attacking areas with Mo Salah, Diogo Jota, Luiz Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo to choose from so signing a new striker is unlikely to be one of Klopp’s priorities.
Liverpool have already signed Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for around £35m and they are looking to sign one or two more midfielders before next season.
Klopp is also understood to be in the market for a young defender who can compete with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. Wolfsburg’s Micky van de Ven has been mentioned as a potential signing in that area.
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