Real Madrid willing to pay €100m to sign Serie A superstar if Kylian Mbappe pursuit fails - Reports
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has reportedly earmarked Victor Osimhen as a backup if they fail to sign Kylian Mbappe next year.
Los Blancos' desire to sign Mbappe is well known. They pursued him in the summer of 2022 but failed to sign him, as he signed a new two-year contract at the Parc des Princes.
They were also intent on signing Mbappe this summer, and PSG had transfer-listed him for a fee of €200 million. However, he ended up staying at the Paris-based club. According to El Nacional, he remains Real Madrid's Plan A, though.
Perez, though, is apparently aware that he can't put all his eggs in one basket in his bid to strengthen Real Madrid's attack. Hence, the Spanish giants are willing to pay €100 million for Osimhen.
The Nigerian star finished last season as the top scorer in Serie A with 26 goals in 32 games as Napoli won their first league title in 33 years. Since his €75 million transfer from LOSC Lille Metropole in 2020, he has scored 62 times and laid out 14 assists in 104 games across competitions.
Osimhen, 24, is in the final two years of his contract at the Diego Armando Maradona. It remains to be seen what valuation Napoli place on him when he enters the last 12 months of his deal.
Mbappe, meanwhile, can sign a pre-contract with a foreign club in January next year if he doesn't pen fresh terms at PSG.
Real Madrid target Kylian Mbappe has started season in great form
PSG and Kylian Mbappe were at war just before the start of the new season. He was dropped from the matchday squad in his team's opening-day goalless draw against Lorient in Ligue 1.
Since then, though, the relations between club and player have improved. He played in the three league games that followed and has registered five goals. That includes a brace apiece in PSG's wins against Lyon (4-1) and RC Lens (3-1) and a goal in the 1-1 draw against Toulouse. He's the club's record goalscorer with 217 strikes in 263 games.
Hence, Les Parisiens would want to retain the 24-year-old beyond next summer, especially after Neymar and Lionel Messi's exits. Nevertheless, he has yet to pen a new deal, and there's a chance that he could leave the Ligue 1 champions next year on a free transfer.
It's worth mentioning that Real Madrid haven't made a long-term signing in the No. 9 position despite not signing Mbappe this summer.