Napoli's head coach, Antonio Conte, is interested in bringing alienated Manchester United forward, Marcus Rashford, to Italy, with a swap deal for Osimhen as a likely option, Soccernet.ng reports.
The former Chelsea boss took over the reins at the Estadio Diego Armando Maradona last summer after Napoli had a dreadful season where they failed to put up a worthy title defence.
Conte's return saw him welcome Lukaku to Naples, while Victor Osimhen tried to force a move away from the club at the time. The Nigerian ended up joining Galatasaray on a season-long loan.
The Italian tactician prefers to play two forwards while keeping a solid back five. While Lukaku has been solid for Die Partonepei, Conte is keen on adding another striker to the mix and has identified Marcus Rashford as his target.
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Chaos in Manchester
Under Sir Jim Ratcliffe, it appears the Red Devils are trying to cut costs to create a structured wage bill and avoid overcompensating for players' performances.
While Ruben Amorim is expecting a major overhaul in the summer, he'll have to offload a lot of players. Marcus Rashford has not played for Manchester United since their 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the UEFA Europa League on December 12th.
The Carrington Academy graduate has hinted he wouldn't shy away from a new challenge if the opportunity presents itself. While the majority of United fan's will want the 27-year-old to remain at the Theatre of Dreams, his exit will free up a huge amount of money on the club's wage bill, which is something INEOS want.
Osimhen-Rashford swap deal?
According to The Sun, Ruben Amorim's side are considering proposing a swap deal to Napoli to try and sign Osimhen. The Nigerian striker wants to leave Italy for good and has a £62 million ($76.8m) release clause, but United could bring that amount down by throwing Rashford into the deal.
Marcus Rashford is at the centre of a potential swap deal involving Victor Osimhen and Napoli. Antonio Conte’s interest in Rashford has opened the door to Manchester United signing Osimhen.
(Source: @CharlieWyett, @SunMartinB) pic.twitter.com/NIWttuI2Ij
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) January 3, 2025
Both parties are on good terms, based on their history of negotiations, with Scott McTominay leaving Old Trafford for Naples last summer.
While a swap deal will look like a viable option, and a new chance for Rashford to flourish under a new coach who fancies him, Manchester United faces stiff competition from other Premier League clubs like Arsenal and Chelsea who are currently monitoring Osimhen's transfer situation.
However, it is currently unknown if Osimhen would want to join Manchester United at the moment. He's remained mute about his next club, and has severally revealed he wants to excel during his loan spell with Okan Buruk's side.
Manchester United are languishing in 14th position on the English Premier League table, and their chances of playing in a European competition next season are very slim. In contrast, Arsenal and Chelsea are in the top four.
Additionally, Manchester United have no stable system, and it might be too much of a gamble for the former LOSC Lille striker to move to Old Trafford.
At the moment, Osimhen is heralding Galatasaray to a title charge in Turkey, while Manchester United have lost four games on the bounce.
