EPL: Why Man Utd signed Hojlund instead of Osimhen – Benni McCarthy

Former South Africa striker, Benni McCarthy, has revealed why Manchester United opted to sign Rasmus Hojlund instead of Victor Osimhen.

McCarthy was a first-team coach at Old Trafford under former manager Erik ten Hag at the time.

United were keen to sign Osimhen, but were discouraged by the Africa Cup of Nations schedule.

Osimhen had emerged as one of the top strikers in Europe, after scoring 26 goals to help Napoli win their first Serie A title in 33 years.

McCarthy has now claimed he played a role in the recruitment of strikers and thought Osimhen would “fit perfect” with the Red Devils.

“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.”

United instead signed Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta for £72m in August 2023, with the Denmark international scoring 26 goals in 95 appearances before joining Napoli on loan last September.