Jose Mourinho has given Victor Osimhen perhaps the best possible praise he can by comparing the Manchester United target to former Chelsea favourite Didier Drogba, though he couldn't resist a small dig at the striker.
Ivorian striker Drogba led the line for Mourinho's Chelsea as they won back-to-back Premier League titles, eventually scoring 100 top-flight goals for the Blues and winning the Champions League under Roberto Di Matteo in 2012. Osimhen, 24, is a little younger than Drogba was when he moved to Stamford Bridge in 2004, but has been pulling up trees in Serie A.
The Napoli frontman scored a stunning opener as the league leaders beat Roma on Sunday night. The goal may have added a little to the Nigerian's already-hefty price tag, with Man Utd reportedly eyeing up a summer move for the top scorer in Italy's top tier.
“He is of the same level as Drogba, but Didier didn’t dive," Mourinho said after his team's 2-1 defeat. "If Victor changes, then OK.
"I’d buy him if I was at a club with a lot of money. However, if he does go to England one day, he needs to change, because in Italy they put up with this sort of behaviour, whereas in the Premier League, they’d come down hard on him.”
Osimhen smashed in Napoli's opener against Roma on Sunday, expertly bringing down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's cross before lashing a volley past Rui Patricio for his 14th league goal of the season. Stephan El Shaarawy brought Roma briefly level, only for Gio Simeone to score a late winner for Luciano Spalletti's side.
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Osimhen, who joined Napoli from Lille in a €70m deal back in 2020, has scored 43 goals in 82 appearances for the Italian club. He scored his first Champions League goal for the Partenopei in a victory over Ajax this season, and scored four times in last season's Europa League group stage before Napoli fell to Barcelona in the knockout play-off round.
He has emerged as one of a handful of United targets as Erik ten Hag looks for a long-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo after the veteran's November departure. Harry Kane and Benjamin Sesko have also been linked with an Old Trafford switch, but former United frontman Andrew Cole has been banging the drum for the Nigerian.
"I think Victor Osimhen at Napoli is very good and could be the long-term natural fit," Cole told Betway earlier in the month. "The question is whether Napoli would be prepared to let him go.
"He’s rangy, got a good first touch, scores goals and is a decent size as well. I watched him play against Liverpool and he was more than prepared to link the play and then run in behind."
