Victor Osimhen holds unseen Manchester United transfer advantage over Viktor Gyokeres

Victor Osimhen and Viktor Gyokeres are two of Europe's most in-demand strikers right now and Manchester United continue to be linked with both.

United are in desperate need of a reliable goal-scorer this summer, having not had one since Marcus Rashford netted 30 goals in 2022/2023 under Erik ten Hag. Cristiano Ronaldo was United's last great striker in that regard with 24 goals in 2021/2022.

Rasmus Hojlund has regularly seemed out of his depth since arriving at Old Trafford from Atalanta in 2023, leading to successive managers using Bruno Fernandes as a false nine in some matches. It's no coincidence that United have suffered their lowest ever Premier League finish, in successive seasons, when the goals began to dry up for their strikers.

It's why Osimhen and Gyokeres are so, so appealing. There's a sense that signing either player would fix a huge number of problems at M16 and perhaps the biggest one of them all.

Gyokeres has the more impressive stats, with 54 goals across all competitions in 2024/2025, compared to 37 from Osimhen. There is also a sense that the Swede's familiarity of working with United head coach Ruben Amorim from their time at Sporting CP together will work in United's favour.

But there is another factor that few, if anyone, has been discussing. Osimhen first made his name at Napoli and has continued to impress on loan at Galatasaray this season - playing his final match for the Turkish club on Friday night.

Few would argue that Napoli are not a bigger club than Sporting, with Diego Maradona elevating their status as one of Europe's most famous clubs. Sporting, of course, have Ronaldo to boast about, but the Portuguese is more synonymous with United and Real Madrid.

Serie A is also seen as a