The Africa Cup of Nations schedule is a major reason why Manchester United did not try to sign Victor Osimhen, according to the club’s former first-team coach Benni McCarthy.
Nigeria striker Osimhen attracted attention from Europe’s elite sides after scoring 26 league goals in 2022-23 to help fire Napoli to a first Italian title in 33 years.
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.”
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.
Osimhen, meanwhile, was named African footballer of the year in 2023 but left Napoli to join Galatasaray on loan in September 2024, and the 27-year-old then sealed a permanent switch to the Turkish giants last July.
