Man United beat off competition to reach 'basic agreement' to sign £63m Osimhen

Manchester United have reportedly pipped a host of European giants to secure the signature of highly sought after Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen.

They have reached a 'basic agreement' with the star striker's entourage for his salary terms, according to reports in Italy.

The 26-year-old Galatasaray forward, currently on loan from Napoli, has a release clause of £63million available for non-Italian clubs.

Ruben Amorim will be looking to sign another striker to bolster their attacking ranks with Rasmus Hojlund struggling to live up to his £72m price tag.

The 22-year-old, who attracted criticism following his performance against Wolves on Sunday, has only scored three Premier League goals in 28 appearances this season.

A swap deal, which would see the Dane moving to Naples, would make the deal more likely, Tuttosport said.

Osimhen is one of Europe's hottest strikers and has also been linked with Arsenal, Juventus and Barcelona.

He has notched an impressive 29 goals in 34 games this season, including 21 in the Turkish Super Lig.

He scored 31 goals in all competitions as he fired Napoli to a first Serie A title in 33 years in the 2022-23 season.

However, he was forced to desperately search for a new club in last summer's transfer window after Napoli boss Antonio Conte signed Romelu Lukaku and left Osimhen out of the squad.

Despite rumours of a move to Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and a host of Saudi Arabian sides, no move permanent move materialised.

The Nigerian international, who has scored 26 times in 40 appearances for the Super Eagles, will see his current contract with Napoli expire at the end of the next season.

Although Galatasaray appear eager to try and retain Osimhen, it is viewed as unlikely they will be able to capture one of Europe's most wanted strikers in his prime.

'Osimhen will announce his decision in April,' the club's vice-president, Abdullah Kavukcu, said as per Sport Mediaset.

'At the moment, five of the world’s top clubs are interested in him. His arrival here was a dream—he came, and for now, he is playing with us.

'In January, there was talk of a transfer, but he stayed. He loves Galatasaray very much. Right now, he is the dream of all our rivals.

'Although we are focused on winning the title, we have not had direct discussions with Victor yet. There is no point in talking about it now.

'Galatasaray are a top-level club—if it weren’t, Victor wouldn’t have come. His stay at Galatasaray is not as impossible as it may seem.'

Meanwhile, last summer, Chelsea legends John Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba tried to convince the striker to move to Stamford Bridge.

'I hope that Chelsea fans will finally see him come to the club. I’ll make sure I send him those text messages and calls, making sure Chelsea is his top priority,' said Mikel.

'But it seems like he loves the club and wants to come to Chelsea. I’m sure he has all the big clubs wanting to sign him. I think if we can secure his signature it would be fantastic for the club.

'Didier is also speaking to him, sharing his own ideas and what the club means to us. We all want to see Victor come to the club. If it happens, it happens. It’s a huge transfer fee, but if we can match it and get him to the club that would be absolutely fantastic.'