Manchester United are supposedly giving consideration to an audacious swap deal involving wantaway striker Marcus Rashford and Napoli frontman Victor Osimhen.
Twenty-seven-year-old Rashford went public with his desire to seek out a new opportunity in the middle of December, and he has seemingly never been closer to leaving his boyhood club.
Rashford has reportedly rejected three mammoth £35m offers to make the switch to Saudi Arabia, though, as the England international wants to continue his career in Europe, and preferably in La Liga.
Neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid are thought to hold a serious interest in signing the attacker this month, though, while Man United are reluctant to let him join a Premier League rival on loan for the rest of the season.
However, a new exit route has now emerged for Rashford, as The Sun claims that he could make an unexpected switch to Napoli this month, with the in-demand Osimhen heading in the opposite direction.
Antonio Conte to offer Rashford Serie A lifeline?
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Partenopei boss Antonio Conte - formerly of Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur - is apparently keen to work with Rashford in Naples, having already welcomed Scott McTominay into his ranks from Old Trafford last summer.
In return, Napoli could reportedly cut Osimhen's Galatasaray loan short and send him to Old Trafford, as the Nigeria international also has no future with the 2022-23 Serie A champions.
Osimhen was frozen out of the Partenopei squad after it became clear that he would not be extending his contract, and moves to either Chelsea or Arsenal were mooted during the summer window.
However, neither party managed to meet Napoli's price demands, and a bizarre deadline day saga saw a proposed switch to Al-Ahli fall through, as the Saudi giants signed Ivan Toney from Brentford instead.
Eventually, Galatasaray agreed a season-long loan deal for the 26-year-old, who has registered 12 goals and five assists in 15 matches for the Turkish giants this season, including a double against Tottenham Hotspur in a 3-2 Europa League win.
Osimhen has also struck 76 goals in 133 appearances for Napoli in all tournaments, but a permanent exit in 2025 appears to be inevitable, and the Italian side have already replaced him with Romelu Lukaku.
Rashford for Osimhen - could a sensational swap really happen?
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Waving goodbye to an inconsistent Rashford and saying hello to one of Europe's most in-demand marksmen would likely be a dream for most Man United fans, especially with Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee in particular struggling to assert themselves up top.
However, that sensational swap dream should remain just a dream for a couple of reasons, the first being that Rashford is pining to return to the England squad and would have a better chance of doing that in one of the established 'Big Five' leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Bundesliga).
Furthermore, Napoli would almost certainly not swap Osimhen for Rashford without also demanding a cash sum - the Nigerian's Partenopei contract is said to include a £62m release clause - and Red Devils head coach Ruben Amorim has stressed that his side have no money to spend this winter.
Severing Osimhen from his Galatasaray loan may not prove so simple either, but given both strikers are on the chopping blocks at their respective clubs, this is one that could very well be revisited in the summer.
Ben Knapton
