Osimhen could have been successful at Man United – Benni McCarthy

South African legend Benni McCarthy has explained why Manchester United never signed Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen despite tipping the player to have been very successful at the Premier League club.

After his prolific performance for Napoli in Serie A where he managed to score 26 goals in the 2022-23 campaign, Osimhen attracted interest from several clubs in Europe among them Man United.

Apart from the goals, Osimhen further helped Napoli to end their 33-year-wait for the Italian title. According to McCarthy, who currently handles Kenya national team Harambee Stars, Osimhen was a target for Man United but the Africa Cup of Nations cut off the deal.

AFCON was a big stumbling block

“If you spend £100m on a player, you don’t want to lose him for AFCON,” McCarthy told Newsday on the BBC World Service. “I think he would have been very successful there. But it [AFCON] was a big stumbling block.

“Losing him for so many important matches, the team suffers not having the main striker there.

“So, the decision was made. Literally [a] big part was because of the AFCON and Victor Osimhen’s name got scratched off – not a player of interest because of that.”

Osimhen finished eighth at the 2023 Ballon d’Or

For his efforts in winning the Italian league, Osimhen won the league’s Best Striker award, prior to being named Serie A Footballer of the Year a few months later.

Osimhen is currently the highest scoring African player in the history of Serie A. He was loaned to Turkish side Galatasaray ahead of the 2024025 season, where he finished as the league’s top scorer and won a domestic double.

He finished in eighth place at the 2023 Ballon d’Or ceremony, becoming the first Nigerian to make the top ten of the French award.

Osimhen was named the African Footballer of the Year at the 2023 CAF Awards, the first Nigerian to receive this honour since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.