Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has seemingly hinted at a possible big-money summer move for Napoli forward Victor Osimhen by drawing up a plan to resolve the goalkeeping situation at Old Trafford in advance of next season. The Red Devils will lose three stoppers at the end of the campaign as things stand, with David de Gea and Tom Heaton out of contract in the summer and Jack Butland set to return to Crystal Palace when his loan spell finishes.
This dilemma has seen United linked with a number of high-profile targets in recent months such as Sporting goalkeeper Diogo Costa and Everton ace Jordan Pickford, who would undoubtedly cost the Red Devils a pretty penny when the bidding opens later this year. However, it seems as though Ten Hag is looking to save his cash in order to strengthen in other positions by focusing on extending De Gea’s current contract.
That’s according to The Athletic, who are reporting that Ten Hag has given the green light to a new long-term deal for De Gea to sign between now and the end of the campaign. Negotiations are said to be progressing well behind closed doors at Old Trafford, which suggests that an expensive move for a new goalkeeper will not be on United’s recruitment agenda when the transfer window opens in the summer.
They may still need to go out and sign a goalkeeper to provide cover for De Gea if Heaton is allowed to run down his existing deal and Butland returns to Selhurst Park as expected in the summer. However, they would likely be inclined to sign a promising young stopper with the potential to be their first-choice in the future rather than a ready-made replacement for De Gea if the Spaniard puts pen to paper on a new and improved contract.
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Ten Hag’s preference to keep De Gea on United’s books suggests that he could instead be looking to use his funds to target the signing of Osimhen, who has been mentioned in connection with the Red Devils since the end of last season. The Napoli forward has already scored 19 goals in all competitions over the course of the campaign and is only tied down until the summer of 2025, which indicates that his current employers may be willing to sell up at some point over the next two years, although any fee requested is likely to be close to or in excess of the £100million mark.
Osimhen was heavily linked with a move to the Premier League last summer but ultimately ended up staying at Napoli and has since played a major part in firing them into Serie A title contention with his regular contributions at the top of the pitch this season. His agent, Roberto Calenda, insisted in October that the forward had no plans to leave Napoli but admitted that the ever-changing nature of the market means that nothing can be categorically ruled out in future.
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“We haven’t found out now that Osimhen is the subject of interest from so many teams, but things are done in threes: who sells, who buys and the player,” Calenda told Radio Kiss Kiss.
“I was immediately clear this summer because I knew there would be a lot of news coming out from those who had other interests perhaps. But I, the boy and Napoli had very clear ideas. Whoever talked about a departure made a mistake. It was Victor’s will to stay at Napoli and play the Champions League that he won entry to last year together with his team-mates.
“Victor wanted exactly that, to have a great year with Napoli, between the league and the Champions League. He has a long contract with the Azzurri. The market is dynamic, but our will is to continue at Napoli and continue to do well.”
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