•Dario Osorio
Manchester United, Liverpool and Real Madrid have all converged on rising Chile star Dario Osorio, a report has claimed.
As per Spanish source Fichajes, Man Utd have joined Liverpool in trying to bring the FC Midtjylland forward to the Premier League, though Real Madrid are also in the frame, reports AFP.
The right winger, who can also operate on the left if needed, has impressed scouts from many top clubs with his exciting performances for Midtjylland over the past two seasons.
The report claims Man Utd sent a scout to watch the left-footed Osorio in action during Midtjylland’s Europa League win over Maccabi Tel Aviv, and that club official returned a glowing report.
Osorio did not manage to register a goal or assist, but he caused opposition defenders problems as Midtjylland ran out 2-0 winners.
Fichajes state that Man Utd have ‘set their sights’ on the South American ‘pearl’ Osorio as they look to consolidate the right wing position, with Jadon Sancho having joined Chelsea and Antony still failing to justify his huge £86million price tag.
This could be Antony’s last season to prove himself, and Man Utd may try to speed his exit up by landing Osorio as a replacement.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have identified the 13-time Chile international as a possible successor to Mo Salah, should the Anfield hero head to either Paris Saint-Germain or Saudi Arabia next summer.
However, both Man Utd and Liverpool will face competition from Real Madrid. The Spanish titans have had plenty of success in signing players from South America in recent years, such as Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Fede Valverde and Endrick, with Osorio the latest starlet on their wish list.
It is unclear at this point who will win the race for Osorio, as all three of Man Utd, Liverpool and Madrid have the funds to offer big proposals for his signature.
What is clear, though, is that the 20-year-old has top-class potential, and that he will soon leave Midtjylland to take an exciting next step in his career.
Osorio’s record is not blistering, but it is important to note that he is still young and developing his game.
Last term, the wide man notched nine goals and two assists in 25 matches across all competitions. So far this season, Osorio has managed three goals and one assist in 16 appearances.
In June, it was claimed that Liverpool had drawn up an ‘important offer’ for Osorio, but the Reds ended up pursuing different transfer objectives.
Liverpool could end up regretting that decision if the talented attacker joins either Man Utd or Madrid in 2025.
Meanwhile, reports in Italy claim that Man Utd have offered the manager’s job to Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi, though he has supposedly rejected their advances.
TEAMtalk understands that Inzaghi is on Man Utd’s shortlist, though they are currently prioritising other managers, with Thomas Tuchel the leading candidate.
While in Barcelona watching his INEOS Britannia sailing team, Man Utd part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has been quizzed on Erik ten Hag’s future.
“I don’t want to answer that question, but I like Erik. I think he’s a very good coach,” he replied.
“At the end of the day it’s not my call, it’s the management team that’s running Manchester United that have to decide how we best run the team in many different respects.
“But that team that’s running Manchester United has only been together since June or July. They weren’t there in January, February, March or April – [CEO] Omar [Berrada], [Sporting Director] Dan Ashworth – they only arrived in July.
“They’ve only been there…you can count it in weeks almost – they’ve not been there a long time so they need to take stock and make some sensible decisions.
“Our objective is very clear – we want to take Manchester United back to where it should be, and it’s not there yet, obviously – that’s very clear.”
Liverpool left-back target Antonee Robinson has revealed praise from Salah when the pair came up against each other previously.
“We played Liverpool in the first game of the season two years ago. We drew 2-2. I remember saying to my friends, who are all big Liverpool fans and came down because it was around my birthday, ‘Lads if Salah scores or gets an assist this game, I’ll pay for dinner tonight’, so I put a bit of added pressure on myself,” he said.
“And he did, annoyingly. But I remember him saying to me midway through the game, ‘How old are you?’. So he didn’t really know who I was. I must have been 24, 25.
“He just nodded and carried on with the game. Then, after the game, I asked for his shirt, so we swapped shirts and we were just chatting and he was like, ‘You were the best player this game, keep up what you’re doing’. That was very nice of him.”
Elsewhere, German reporter Christian Falk has given Liverpool a boost by stating that Eintracht Frankfurt star Omar Marmoush is keen on joining them.
The striker is on West Ham United’s shortlist, but Falk claims he would rather sign for a truly elite team such as Liverpool or Arsenal next.
Marmoush will cost €40-50m (up to £41.9m / US$54.8m).
