02 May 2025 17:59:08
Ed001 or Macca is either of you are about.
Do you expect us to go back in for Osimhen in the summer? See reports we were very close in January as Macca had alluded to.
{Ed001's Note - I am sure we will revisit it yes.}
02 May 2025 18:12:51
Cheers for reply mate ? don't know much about him but would seem an upgrade on what we have atm.
02 May 2025 18:41:15
145 goals in 260 professional games suggests he is a pretty decent player. There are attitude questions but he was treated pretty crappily by Napoli hence the reason he forced his way out. Story goes that his wage demands aren’t as extreme as has been reported. I’d give him a go, he’s got to be a better option than Jota/ Nunez again, he could replace both those players TBH.
02 May 2025 19:41:17
Ed001 so are those rumours that we very nearly signed him in January true? Took it with quite the pinch of salt when I heard it.
{Ed001's Note - I don't know about nearly signing him, we did try and get a deal done, yes.}
02 May 2025 20:05:25
Napoli treated him poorly, they even posted racist/ racially insensitive stuff about him on their own social media. Most of the attitude problems seem to be people moaning he wants to leave Napoli and wants to earn as much as possible. Don’t blame the lad.
I’d have him in a heart beat think he’d take us to the next level.
02 May 2025 20:14:36
He’s very average, same level as Darwin tbh.
02 May 2025 20:42:36
He’s the IDEAL United signing. A very expensive problem.
02 May 2025 20:52:20
It would not be hard to improve on Jota, for whom we'd likely get 40m. All you'd have to do it stay fit.
02 May 2025 20:53:25
He wants £400k a week and a very large signing on fee and his agent also wants a very large payment too.
He was happy to throw away a year of his career in a farmers league over his stupid wage demands. Don’t want that mercenary anywhere near the club, though thankfully his wage demands will be end of any interest.
02 May 2025 21:21:49
@victor that's my gut feeling as well. I can't speak of how good he is because I haven't seen him play but I did think it was strange hiw he went to Turkey when he had his pick of top clubs.
But if its true Napoli treated him poorly then I'm maybe wrong. I'll back the lad if he signs.
02 May 2025 21:23:04
He would score a bundle of goals with us. I don't think the club would bring him in on 400k a week, and nor should they. It's an obscene amount to look for, earn it. Like Salah, VVD, Robbo, Ali etc. Earn you're high wage by working hard.
02 May 2025 22:04:21
Any top striker is going to be wanting north of 250k a week. Gyokeres, Isak, Osimhen, Alvarez.
02 May 2025 22:13:16
A lot of good players have tried that same farmers leagues during their careers. Not saying i want him but he's a better option than this seasons versions of Nunez/ Jota. I just want improvement in the areas we choose to strengthen. He knows where the goal is and we wouldn't be bringing him in on anything near 400k a week. i'd rather isak/ cunha but doesn't look like either are on the cards and we need a real No.9 this year.
02 May 2025 23:47:29
Huh, interesting. Cheers Ed.
{Ed001's Note - very welcome mate.}
03 May 2025 03:18:18
There's no ifs about it. Napoli treated him poorly. Posting the racist video about him and doubling down on it just proves it. I'm a bit hesitant about his rumoured wage demands though but his attitude while playing in Turkiye has been good. He still gives his all and puts in effort despite playing in a supposed farmer's league. He could have taken it easy there and just gone through the motions so the fact that he still worked hard over there is a green flag in my book.
03 May 2025 06:53:43
How’s he like Darwin? He scores loads of goals! Love how people hear a rumour about attitude and then right him off! How did that work out for Mane? Some people need to stop reading stuff and then palming it off as their own knowledge.
03 May 2025 07:29:23
Another oportunistic / 'clever' signing by ted hughes and co?
03 May 2025 07:29:54
Darwin scored loads of goals in Portugal.
He’s just not that good, his control is average and that counts for a lot in the premier league.
His decisions are average too, very much like Darwin.
His finishing is nothing special.
He’d be a colossal gamble and I think there is much better options.
03 May 2025 07:35:01
I think he is a similar player as Darwin as far as the function that he would play in the team goes, he is a pure 9 and a finisher whose job is purely to get in behind and stretch the back line or get on the end of crosses. The assumption getting a striker like him in is that you have everything set up behind him to create lots of chances for him to score. I'm not so down about his finishing as some on here, I think he actually does very well with very few chances, look at the goals he has scored for Napoli and you see a lot of first time finishes hit with power, even at difficult angles. Plus he is probably even faster than Darwin, his pace is absolutely frightening, he is very smart in the runs he makes and positions he takes up to make defenders think they have enough of a head start on him, and he is absolutely elite in the air despite only being 6'1, some of the jumps you see him make in either box are insane, he has a ridiculous vertical jump. He is one of the fastest forwards I have ever seen, to be honest.
If we go for him it would be an interesting choice given Trent is likely leaving, we need to find a solution to make up for the creativity Trent provides to supply the front line.
Osimhen has decent linkup play with his back to goal but he isn't at all the kind to drop deep in build up. Also he loves to receive the ball or run through the right sided channel that mo and Conor use. The kinds of goals he scores are 95% plus in the box, he doesn't have the variety of an isak, he is very much a classic striker and a predator in the box. If we go for him it would be as an upgrade on Darwin rather than as a change of direction in the sort of 9 we want.
03 May 2025 08:13:19
@Ron, spot on, players can flatter to deceive in “lesser” leagues for want of a better word. A player can have an excellent touch and control in a slow paced league or in a league where players have space and time, but without the capability to lift their game when the pace is faster, marking is tighter and the space is closed down very, very quickly the same player can look very irdinary because their technique goes out the window.
03 May 2025 11:44:21
@Victor can you confirm what the player and the player’s agent want in terms of signing-on and agent percentage fees respectively? Can you let us know your source because, at present, to someone not ITK it sounds a bit like unsubstantiated, vague guesswork.
03 May 2025 12:10:08
WDW, I’m expecting great things in response to this question….
03 May 2025 13:08:50
If a striker plays in the lesser leagues, it’s then imperative that they have CL/ international pedigree, you’re saying? Does someone like Jonathan David have that, because he’s 25, on a free, and scores a rubbish ton for his country and Lille?
03 May 2025 14:35:00
Remember, that Osimehn would have to play AFCON. Not ideal losing 2/ 3s of your first choice forward line in the middle of a season.
In order of preference for me:
1. Isak
2. Alvarez
3. Cunha
After that we're down to Ekitike, Dhuran, Sesko, Delap and Osimehn who would be riskier buys for different reasons. Not sure on Gyokeres myself.
03 May 2025 15:27:49
Jonathan David has been pretty much dismissed by folks on this site Mr Scrabble. I certainly wouldn’t be averse to giving him a try on a free. He can’t be any worse than £70m Nunez and £40m Jota have been this season.
03 May 2025 16:36:21
Alvarez is not coming to England again. Isak is too much and may get CL at Newcastle, and Cunha is quite far advanced with Man U. I agree that David may be a step below, but I’m struggling to see any of the usual suspects coming. It’ll be someone off radar perhaps. Mbeumo and Osimhen are AFCON-bound.
03 May 2025 22:40:59
Darwin scored loads of goals in Portugal in one season.
Either Darwin over performed that one season and has underperformed the rest or he’s just at his level and had one good season like many other strikers have.
04 May 2025 07:05:09
To be fair to Darwin the season before he exploded he showed all the attributes of being on the cusp of a breakout season, the same as he did last year under klopp. At almeria it was the same. He hasn't been what we expected but it annoys me a bit that people on here call him crap, in many aspects he has elite and singular qualities, it's just the mental and emotional side of the game that he is really lacking in terms of composure and maturity. He is also not the most adaptable of players, he was bought to play one way and not another.
Also I think jk makes a valid point about the misplaced comparison between osimhen and Darwin, osimhen has been steadily realising the promise he has shown even as a 17 year old at the youth world cup, and has maintained that level for a number of years now. He is frightening on an athletic level, is a killer in the box, the vast majority of his shots and goals are high quality chances and is one of the best at attacking the ball in the air.