Premier League giants Manchester United were interested in signing Victor Osimhen, but the team’s former strikers’ specialist has given the major reason they eventually pulled the plug on this transfer.
Benni McCarthy, who at the time was part of the Old Trafford staff under then manager Erik ten Hag, has revealed he played a role in the recruitment of strikers and thought Osimhen would “fit perfect” with the Red Devils.
But the biennial staging of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which regularly falls in the middle of the European season, meant United switched to other targets despite Osimhen initially being “at the top of the list”.
“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.”
