Victor Osimhen's Man Utd rejection after having "too much respect" to compete for place

Victor Osimhen has previously rejected a move to Manchester United out of respect for one of his compatriots as he claimed he had "too much respect" to battle with him for a starting berth.

That was way back in 2020, just before he joined Napoli. It was during his stint with Lille that Osimhen first put himself on the map and his goalscoring exploits made a number of clubs stand up and take note. United were among them, but the Italian side eventually won the race.

Osimhen's refusal to join the Premier League side stemmed from the fact they then had Odion Ighalo on their books. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer raised eyebrows when he went and signed the former Watford man to address the team's attacking issues.

Ighalo had a bright start, but quickly tailed off and his record by the time he left Manchester stood at five goals in 23 games. That said, he was one of the senior Nigerian players of his generation and Osimhen had great respect for the player who was nine years his senior.

The Napoli frontman felt he couldn't compete with his fellow countryman for a starting spot knowing that ultimately one of them would lose out, which motivated his move to Italy.

READ MORE: Ruben Amorim's dream Man Utd XI with four new signings and two major exits during window

READ MORE: Man Utd's dream striker target opens talks as summer transfer saga takes new twist

Osimhen's brother, Andrew, told Complete Sports: "It is very true that Manchester United wanted Victor, but he told me something like he had too much respect for Odion Ighalo to be competing for shirts with his senior colleague. My brother holds Ighalo in high esteem and he just didn't see himself going to Old Trafford to battle for a striking role with the highest goalscorer at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt."

Fast forward five years and Osimhen heading to Manchester could yet materialise. Despite firing Napoli to the Serie A title several years ago the striker is now surplus to requirements whilst Antonio Conte remains at the helm.

He has bought in Romelu Lukaku and backed the Belgian as his leading light in attack. It forced Osimhen to head out on loan last term but he continued to be prolific whilst at Galatasaray. Now back in Italy, he is likely to be sold once a buyer can be found.

Already this summer he has turned down a move to Saudi Arabia, underlining his desire to stay in Europe and ex-United star Rio Ferdinand is among those to endorse a move for the Nigerian.

He said: "I think if I'm looking at the market now and I had to pick him (Viktor Gyokeres) or Osimhen, I'd probably pick Osimhen because of that experience."

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.