Al-Hilal have submitted a bid to sign one of Manchester United’s transfer targets after failing to convince Bruno Fernandes to join the Saudi Pro League.
The Saudi club are keen to make a marquee signing this summer, having already hired former Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi to be their new head coach.
Mohamed Salah had been a long-term target before the Egyptian committed his future to Liverpool.
Bruno Fernandes was also approached last week with a mind-boggling £700,000-a-week offer, but the United skipper eventually opted against the move.
‘There was an opportunity. The president [of Al-Hilal] called me and asked if I wanted to go there. They were waiting for me,’ Fernandes revealed this week.
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‘It would have been easy to move there as I know the Portuguese players there very well, but I want to play at the highest level and compete for major titles.’
Having missed out on Fernandes, Al-Hilal have now moved on to their latest target, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the club has sumbitted an official bid to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
The 26-year-old has a €75million (£63m) release clause in his deal and has attracted interest from United as they look for alternatives having failed to sign Liam Delap.
But Al-Ahli appeared to now be in pole position to sign the striker and have submitted an initial proposal worth €65m (£54.7m) with a further €5m (£4.2m) in add-ons.
Napoli are expected to request that the release clause fee is matched, but reports add that the Saudi club are happy to do that if their initial bid is rebuffed.
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Osimhen was in talks with both Al-Ahli and Chelsea last summer, but ultimately failed to agree terms on a deal with either side.
The Nigerian international instead moved on loan to Galatasaray where he enjoyed a superb campaign, scoring 37 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions to guide the Turkish side to a league and cup double.
Osimhen urged to spurn Saudi interest
While a move to Saudi Arabia would be lucrative, fellow Nigerian John Obi Mikel has urged the striker to instead seek a move to the Premier League.
‘I hope there is still a Premier League move for him this summer’, Mikel told Metro.
‘I think the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United, they still need a striker. I don’t think [Rasmus] Hojlund is the guy for Manchester United.
‘He runs around and works hard but he is not the guy who will score goals, put them in the top four and win them trophies. So for me Manchester United might be the destination.
‘I don’t want to see him in Saudi right now because he still has so much to offer in Europe. It would be a shame to see him go there. So maybe Arsenal, United, Juventus and PSG too [are his options]. Let’s see what happens.’
Should a move for Osimhen not materialise, United may be forced to consider alternatives as they seek attacking reinforcements for Ruben Amorim’s side.
The Red Devils still hold an interest in Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko, but both strikers are also wanted by Arsenal.
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