Manchester United could have signed one player before he even became a key target for Chelsea.
Chelsea spent the whole summer trying to sign a centre-forward but failed to in the end.
They were interested in the likes of Victor Osimhen, who is currently on loan at Galatasaray, and Jhon Duran but could not land either of them.
Aston Villa are still open to selling Duran, despite the 20-year-old lighting up the Premier League this season. He has scored four goals in five substitute appearances.
Manchester United were interested in Victor Osimhen
Osimhen was a key target for Chelsea during the summer transfer window. Chelsea intensely pursued Osimhen on deadline day but failed to get anywhere.
The Blues are not the only Premier League club who have been looking at the 25-year-old, though.
According to ESPN, United scouted Osimhen during the 2022/23 season, but the Red Devils went no further than that after having concerns about whether Serie A was a strong enough league to actually judge him.
The same outlet claims that Romelu Lukaku‘s form at Inter Milan made United sceptical about Osimhen, with the Belgian failing to bring his firepower over to Chelsea after he joined them back in 2021.
Lukaku was named in one Team of the Week by WhoScored earlier this month so has not made a bad start at Napoli.
Victor Osimhen unlikely to be another Romelu Lukaku
There is no denying that Lukaku was a flop at Chelsea. However, the 31-year-old was never settled at Stamford Bridge and that did not help him.
It could easily be a much different story for Osimhen, who actually wanted to leave Napoli during the summer.
While United opted against signing Osimhen, they have still brought in Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee, two players who were plying their trade in Serie A. Therefore, their stance on Osimhen, if true, is a bizarre one.
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