Rio Ferdinand has yet again urged INEOS to go all-out and agree a deal for Victor Osimhen before he completes a transfer elsewhere.
Unfortunately for the ex-Manchester United skipper, Osimhen is on the verge of joining Galatasaray permanently following a successful loan spell in Turkey last season.
The Red Devils have been credited with interest by numerous outlets throughout the summer, particularly since they were snubbed by Liam Delap and made aware of Viktor Gyokeres’ desire to join Arsenal.
United and Victor Osimhen: The state of play
Yet, as has so frequently been the case in the years United have been linked with the Nigerian international, nothing has materialised, with his wage demands proving too high for INEOS to consider a move.
An approach was reportedly made over the last week in which United asked Osimhen if he’d be willing to take a pay-cut to make the switch to Old Trafford before 2025/2026 got underway, but he declined the proposal, given Galatasaray have tabled a more lucrative package to bring him back to Rams Park.
Osimhen’s loan spell culminated with him adding the Super Lig and Turkish Cup to his honours list, having played an integral role throughout the term by scoring 37 goals in 41 matches. He also boasts an emphatic career record overall of 151 goals in 264 appearances.
Ferdinand would be left ‘disappointed’ if United miss out on Osimhen
To say he would’ve revitalised Ruben Amorim’s lacklustre attacking contingent is an understatement – hence Ferdinand pleading with the key decision-makers to hijack Galatasaray’s negotiations.
“I’m like a broken record. If anyone listens to my podcast, I’ve said Osimhen for a while now,” Ferdinand told the talkSPORT panel.
“He’s a centre-forward, he’s experienced, he knows how to score goals at the top level. I’ve seen today that Galatasaray have put a £50 million bid in.
“I mean, £50 million to get a top-class striker, one of the top strikers in the world, is absolute peanuts in today’s market. I’ll be disappointed if he goes to Galatasaray for that type of money when Man United are crying out for a No. 9.”
“I’ll be disappointed to miss out on Gyokeres if we don’t get a No.9 in. But if we got Osimhen, then I wouldn’t be too concerned,” he concluded.
Get F’d Rio. Your last talent hype was Sancho and look at how he turned out. Leave talent spotting to the professionals mate 👍
Oswaldo, Rio is spot on with Osimhen. He would score goals for Utd and make our attack something to be feared again. As for Sancho ha is a good player who was a bit of a Pratt. He should have been mentored not shunned from the team. Bad managerial decisions and inept transfers have caused us problems along with underperforming players.
The purchase price isn’t the issue: his contract has a modest release clause of €75 million, so Galatasaray’s offer is even below that. It’s his salary demands that are the issue.
In a previous comment, I tried to calculate Osimhen’s equivalent UK salary to meet his request that he ‘not go backwards in net salary’ moving from Italy. But I got it wrong because, reportedly, Serie A footballers pay tax on only half their gross salary – the other half is tax free. Taking that into account, Man Utd would need to pay him £372k per week (gross), which is probably not affordable.
But if he can be talked down to, say, £300k per week – the same base salary as Bruno – I’d be keen to get him.
Money aside, I have no doubt that Osimhen is a very good striker who would perform well for Man Utd in the prem and would keep going for several years.
The funny thing is that what Victor Osimhen is asking for is below 330000.
Rio Ferdinand , you not alone , m practically going crazy why Ineos and particularly Ruben are not keen on Victor Osimhen , Why why why, when we so desperate for a top notch striker , it hardly makes sense . For self protection I have come to convince myself that Osimhen will not come to Carrington ever.