Man United secure agreement in principle’ for Napoli loanee
With reports increasing that Victor Osimhen agreed personal terms with Manchester United, now Juventus are turning towards Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman.
The Nigeria international is still owned by Napoli during his loan spell with Galatasaray, but is set for a sale this summer, perhaps for less than the €75m release clause in his contract.
Multiple reports in Turkey and Italy have suggested over the last few days that Osimhen agreed personal terms with Manchester United.
If confirmed, it would mean Juventus have to look elsewhere for a new striker and Calciomercato.com claimed the most likely candidate is Lookman.
It would confirm a trend of poaching from Atalanta, where they paid €60m including bonuses to get Teun Koopmeiners last year.
A similar price-tag would be appended to Lookman, who is eager to move on following a row with Coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
The 27-year-old Nigeria international can play in a variety of attacking roles and this season contributed 18 goals with seven assists in 36 competitive games.
Before taking any further steps, Juventus would need to confirm their Champions League qualification, as failure would drastically reduce the transfer and salary budget.
Meanwhile, according to reporting in Turkey and by Tuttosport in Italy, United’s simmering interest in Osimhen, currently on loan at Galatasaray, is very real and making progress.
Manchester United now have an ‘agreement in principle’ with Osimhen’s entourage over the striker’s salary, amidst keen interest from Juventus and their sporting director Cristiano Guintoli,
The Nigerian international has been one of the hottest attacking properties in football for some time and has scored 21 times in 25 Super Lig appearances this season, firing the Istanbul giants to a probable title.
With another 65 goals to his name in Serie A, admiring glances from Juventus and Man United were inevitable.
If talks are indeed moving along as reported, the next challenge for the Red Devils is to offload the players to unlock Osimhen’s punchy €75m release clause and make room for him in the squad.