Smart like MU: Use Zirkzee to exchange for Osimhen
Joshua Zirkzee is having a tough time at Old Trafford, with his form declining and the coaching staff's confidence wavering.
In that context, Manchester United is considering using him as "leverage" in the deal to recruit Victor Osimhen - an excellent striker who is being sought after by many teams.
Joshua Zirkzee joined Manchester United in July with high expectations after the Red Devils spent £36.5m to sign him from Bologna. The Dutch striker got off to a flying start, scoring the winner in the opening game against Fulham. However, his form quickly declined and he has not scored since. This has led to Zirkzee falling out of favour with the coaching staff, especially with Ruben Amorim taking over as head coach. The Portuguese is said to not have full faith in the 23-year-old and is looking for another solution to his team's attack.
According to Il Mattino, Man Utd are considering the possibility of using Zirkzee as part of the deal to sign Victor Osimhen. The plan includes sending an additional £25 million to convince Napoli to sell the Nigerian striker. Osimhen is one of Europe's top strikers, having scored 26 goals to help Napoli win Serie A in 2023. However, internal conflicts caused him to leave Napoli and move to Galatasaray on loan. Here, he continued to prove his class with 6 goals and 2 assists in just 5 matches.
Man Utd's attack is really having problems this season, when only scoring 12 goals after 11 rounds in the Premier League - a disappointing number for this traditional team. Adding a striker of Osimhen's class could be the optimal solution to improve scoring efficiency and bring the Red Devils back to the race. However, Man Utd is not the only team pursuing Osimhen. Chelsea and Arsenal are also closely following the Nigerian striker, making the race more tense than ever.
Standing at 13th place in the Premier League, Man Utd will need a smart and drastic strategy to complete this deal. If successful, owning Victor Osimhen could be an important turning point, not only solving the problem of the attack but also restoring the team's ambition to conquer the title. In this case, Joshua Zirkzee will become an important "key" in the Red Devils' plan to change their fortunes.