Following the arrival of Wout Weghorst at the club during the January transfer window, Andy Cole suggested Victor Osimhen as the striker Manchester United should try to recruit.
Erik ten Hag wanted to improve his attacking options, so he signed Weghorst on loan from Burnley for the remainder of the season. The summer transfer window, though, is expected to see United searching again for at least one forward.
And Osimhen, who has scored 12 goals to propel Napoli to the top of Serie A, is according to Cole, who won five Premier League championships in his six seasons at Old Trafford, the ideal candidate to fill that position.
After being taken aback by the Red Devils’ decision to sign Weghorst to serve as a replacement through the remainder of the season, he thinks the Nigerian could be the ideal long-term option up-front for the team.
“I think like everybody else, I was a bit surprised. He had a very good World Cup, scoring a couple of goals against Argentina, and he’s done well at Besiktas, but it’s come from nowhere,” Cole told Betway.
“I think the interesting thing is what the manager is looking for because Weghorst is 6’6”, which is different to the usual profile of United strikers. If you think back to Ruud van Nistelrooy, myself, we were off-the-shoulder strikers.
“(Anthony) Martial has been the same more recently. It’s interesting that they’ve brought in somebody like this now because I’d thought he’d want a different profile in the summer. You want to be getting crosses into Weghorst, rather than getting him away in behind.
“I think Victor Osimhen at Napoli is very good and could be the long-term natural fit. The question is whether Napoli would be prepared to let him go. He’s rangy, got a good first touch, scores goals and is a decent size as well. I watched him play against Liverpool and he was more than prepared to link the play and then run in behind.”
In 18 games this season for Napoli, Osimhen has scored 13 goals.
In his third season with the Italian team, the player has eclipsed his numbers from the two seasons prior, and at this rate, he may be on the verge of breaking an incredible club record.
Osimhen has scored 12 goals in just 14 Serie A games this season, two less than the league-high tally he reached in his rookie year (10 goals in 24 appearances) and two more than he did in his most recent campaign (14 goals in 27 appearances).
Osimhen has only played in roughly half as many games as he did in each of the seasons prior, but with his current goal-per-game average of 1.3, his total may easily double.
- Tags: Andy Cole, Erik ten, Manchester United, Osimhen, Wout Weghorst
