Man United Victor Osimhen transfer twist as Chelsea summer plan for Liam Delap emerges

Manchester United, for the 11th time this season, failed to score within 90 minutes as they fell to a highly disappointing defeat at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

Ruben Amorim has a vision and that involved changing the system in which Man United play. The club recognised this when they hired him last November and he also accepted that for the time being, that would have to happen whilst reliant on the forwards he inherited from sacked predecessor Erik ten Hag.

But as the end of the term approaches, the team still no better off in 13th place, it is the most glaringly obvious problem afoot. Rasmus Hojlund only has three Premier League goals this term and £36.5m signing Joshua Zirkzee equals that tally.

Simply put it is not a sustainable amount if Man United are to realise their true goals, and that is why Amorim is touted in numerous reports to find a solution when the transfer window next opens. With that, the Manchester Evening News rounds up the latest headlines surrounding the search for a new frontman.

Victor Osimhen latest

Fabrizio Romano, writing in his latest GIVEMESPORT column, has provided an insight into Man United's level of interest for Victor Osimhen.

The Nigerian international, 26, still has Napoli as his parent club though has been loaned out to Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig for the entirety of the 2024/25 campaign. This was his only option when no big-money move materialised last summer, but for the upcoming transfer window his future remains uncertain.

"He’s one of the names [they're looking at] but again, zero concrete now in terms of contacts or talks," Romano explained, adding: "It’s still early for Man United to know how much they can spend on the striker, and Osimhen would be quite expensive also in terms of salary."

MEN Sport says: If Victor Osimhen is available for a Premier League transfer this summer, Man United would be daft not to look his way.

The Nigerian only last summer was on every rival's list, or so rumour would have had us believe, and at the cost of almost a nine-figure sum of money. He's now had a year out of the spotlight playing in Turkey but still scoring 28 goals, Napoli should want rid when he returns, so that price will surely have dropped in the meantime.

The difficulty may come down to ambition to play in the Champions League. Of course we don't know yet if Man United will qualify through the back door of winning the Europa League this term.

Liam Delap battle

Another striker linked with an Old Trafford switch ahead of the summer is Ipswich Town's Liam Delap. With 11 goals in his breakout campaign after leaving Man City, the 22-year-old is now supposedly on the radar of top-flight clubs aiming to capitalise if his 18th-placed side get relegated.

Now, TEAMtalk believe that Chelsea have made Delap their top target in the hunt for a new No.9. They reportedly feel that he is 'better-equipped' to play high-end football in England, even ahead of top European strikers also on their shortlist like Benjamin Sesko.

With the Blues therefore likely to make an official offer, it says, Man United could find themselves rushed into a battle for the Englishman.

MEN Sport says: Chelsea's apparent assessment would be correct - Delap is an extremely talented Premier League forward and to be doing what he is doing in a team likely to stay in the relegation zone is nothing short of special.

He could certainly flourish in a similarly good environment but as we have seen with a lot of homegrown talent in recent years, it could come at an inflated price.

Man United need to steer clear of such costly deals and have a multitude of options, like Osimhen, who can do the job just as well, if not better, without requiring a battle between rivals that could easily get out of hand.