Manchester United and Chelsea transfer target Victor Osimhen seems to have had a bid of £75 million tabled with his club Lille from an unnamed club, according to reports. The 21-year-old has been a target for the Premier League giants with French news source, Telefoot reporting the bid. Could this be either club operating under the radar this summer?
Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan have both been linked with the speedy young star but it is suggested that Premier League leaders, Liverpool could be a club in the driving seat for the striker. The Nigerian international’s has played 38 times in all competitions this season, scoring 18 goals and assisting a further six – playing 3,012 minutes of football.
Osimhen started his career at the Ultimate Strikers Academy in Lagos, Nigeria until 2017 and after his performances in the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, Bundesliga side WfL Wolfburg signed the player to a pre-contract which would happen in January 2017. The Nigerian played 16 times for Wolfsburg, failing to score a single goal.
In the summer of 2018, Osimhen had summer trials Belgian clubs Zulte Waregem and Club Brugge, who were the reigning champions but after a bout of Malaria, his physical condition was not the best and neither club made an offer to take him on loan. Instead, he joined RSC Charleroi on loan with the club activating their option to purchase the player.
Osimhen played a total of 36 times for Charleroi, scoring 20 goals and a further four assists in 2,935 minutes of football. In July 2019, Charleroi sold the player to Lille where the player has kept up his current form, despite the coronavirus pandemic stopping world football. It has been confirmed that the Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 in France has been cancelled.
Chelsea have good relations with Lille after purchasing Eden Hazard from the club in the summer of 2012 and the club, along with United, hold an interest in midfielder Boubakary Soumare. It is also suggested that United made Osimhen a priority this summer following the sale of Romelu Lukaku and the poor performances from Alexis Sanchez.
However, despite all the above, journalist Duncan Castles seems to think that Liverpool are the club leading the way for Osimhen this summer. This could be a blow to both United and Chelsea, if it is Liverpool who have played the bid on the player, however, both clubs could use their financial advantage to place higher bids for the player. Castles said:
“The information I have is that Liverpool have been in contact with Lille about their Nigeria centre-forward Victor Osimhen.
“He’s attracting attention from a lot of clubs and has been fulfilling the potential he showed when he won the Golden Boot at the World Youth Cup a few years ago, scoring 10 goals in that particular tournament in Chile.
“They are open to selling him this summer but only if the market provides them with the right price.
“And they’re very conscious that this may well not be the transfer window to sell a player of his talent. That will factor into their thinking.
“They believe they’ve got a player who is going to turn into one of the top centre-forwards in European football.”
During the 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup, Osimhen won the Golden Boot and Silver Ball awards. Because of this, he was also named the CAF Youth Player of the Year award in 2015. The 21-year-old has been capped by Nigeria’s senior side nine times now, scoring four goals; one in a friendly against Ukraine, three in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers; one against Benin and two against Lesotho.
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