Former Nigeria manager says SSC Napoli’s Victor Osimhen would be a good Robert Lewandowski alternative at Bayern Munich

Despite Bayern Munich having not been at all responsive to Barcelona’s three, separate bids for Robert Lewandowski thus far, the player has still made it clear that he wants to leave the club this summer. He’s even willing to go on strike from when he’s expected back at Sabener Strasse for preseason on July 12th to be able to force through a move if one has not happened by then.

There have been a handful of names associated with who Lewandowski’s potential replacement could be at Bayern because the front office has made it clear that Sadio Mane was not purchased with the aim of him being a direct replacement for the Pole. VfB Stuttgart’s Sasa Kalajdzic was heavily linked with a move to Bayern, but Borussia Dortmund is also interested in the striker and it’s since been confirmed by Bayern’s front office that he would only be considered as a replacement for Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in the event he were to leave Bayern this summer.

In one of the more recent transfer links, former Bayern defender and Nigeria national team manager Gernot Rohr said that he feels SSC Napoli’s Victor Osimhen would be a great option to replace Lewandowski at Bayern this summer. “If Bayern let Robert Lewandowski go, Victor Osimhen would be a good alternative. I think he would succeed in Munich,” Rohr told SportBild, as transcribed by @iMiaSanMia on Twitter. The Nigerian international is coming off of a solid 2021/22 campaign with Napoli, having scored 18 goals and provided 6 assists from a total of 32 appearances across all competitions. He missed a decent amount of matches towards the middle stages of the season through a cheekbone fracture.

Osimhen’s current contract with Napoli runs through June 2025 and he’s valuated at around 70-million euros per Transfermarkt, so it’s safe to assume that Bayern potentially buying him would only be possible if they definitely sell Lewandowski for 50-million euros to Barcelona. Right now their efforts seem to be focused on securing a move for Juventus’ Matthijs De Ligt, who wants to join Bayern, but they need to get a viable Lewandowski replacement would take precedent if and when a proper deal is agreed upon with Barcelona for him. Bayern could find that with his age (23), pace, and scoring pedigree, Osimhen might be a serious candidate worth exploring.

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