Manchester United's potential blow of losing Alejandro Garnacho in the January transfer window could be eased with the signing of Victor Osimhen - but not in the manner that you'd expect.

Despite playing 118 times for United at the age of 20, Garnacho could leave the club this month with Napoli and Chelsea interested in him. The Manchester Evening News reported earlier in the January transfer window that United may be compelled to offload the forward this month to adhere to the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability rules.

As per the rules, United are 'under increasing pressure' to sell an academy player with a high value because any deal would equate to pure profit. Alongside Kobbie Mainoo, Garnacho falls into that category.

READ MORE: Man United's transfer chief driving January business after key Patrick Dorgu meeting

READ MORE: Matheus Cunha to Man United transfer latest amid 'record' offer Wolves star

Napoli are currently leading the way with it understood that the Italian giants remain in talks with United over a possible £50million plus add-ons deal. Following the £59m departure of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris Saint-Germain, Napoli are desperate to add reinforcements to Antonio Conte's squad.

No deal is in place yet for the Argentina international to move to Italy but with just under two weeks until the transfer window closes, there remains plenty of time for the details to be agreed. And as comes with the transfer window, speculation is already circulating over how the financial package will be presented.

One report in Turkey has suggested that a deal is close to being signed that would see Napoli pay United €15m (£12.6m) for Garnacho and include Victor Osimhen as part of a swap deal. The striker is currently on loan at Galatasaray, where he has scored 15 goals in 19 games this season.

Simply put, this defeats the object of United selling Garnacho. The potential £50m brought in by his sale would be significant to their PSR compliance, whereas £12.6m would be a major drop-off. Pure profit has become a quirk of football accounting in recent years and it's easy to see why.

If Man United were to sell Diogo Dalot, who cost them £19m, for £45m this month, it would show up in the accounts as a profit of £26m. But when academy players, who cost nothing, are sold on, any fee is profit banked in its entirety - known as pure profit.

So if United let Garnacho go for £12.6m, they wouldn't be making much profit compared to the fee touted. If there is any truth behind the possibility that Osimhen could move to Old Trafford, it would come about in a separate deal.

For example, we saw a number of deals follow that pattern in the summer. Elliot Anderson signed for Nottingham Forest from Newcastle with goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos moving the other way while Omari Kellyman joined Chelsea from Aston Villa with Ian Maatsen moving to Villa Park.

There could be a case, however, where United lower their demand on Garnacho for Osimhen to be brought in. That would be interesting to see how much Napoli then pay for the winger.