The fairytale could soon be over as Victor Osimhen transfer interest grows across the football world, especially in the Premier League.
The Nigeria national football team striker, who is yet to sign a contract extension with the 2022/23 Serie A champions Napoli, is now closer than ever to the exit than he is to renew his stay at the club.
This comes after a season where he performed in a manner similar to Diego Maradona after whom their stadium is named, to lead them to their first Scudetto in decades.
Read on for the latest Victor Osimhen transfer news.
🚨 Naples-based journalist Valter De Maggio has told Televomero via Arena Napoli that Victor Osimhen and Liverpool have reached an agreement on personal terms for a transfer in 2024.
This is, according to the journalist, the main reason recent contractual talks between Osimhen… pic.twitter.com/QmzxxOVgfy
— DaveOCKOP (@DaveOCKOP) October 21, 2023
Osimhen transfer: Napoli president leaves door open to player’s exit
As reported on Goalball Live, Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis has left the door open to a Victor Osimhen transfer away from the club.
De Laurentiis paid an undisclosed fee that was believed to be in the region of €81.3 million, making him the most expensive African player signing at the time. The Italian sports, business and film mogul also found himself and his club under investigation with respect to the signing.
In the end, the risk that the 74-year-old took to land the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner paid off as he braved injury to win the Capocannoniere and lead the team to the Serie A title.
The fairytale started to develop twists and turns when on matchday 5 of the 2023/24 season, Osimhen missed a penalty and was trolled for it by the ex-social media manager of Napoli. Discussions about his contract renewal ground to a halt and nothing has been done to push it forward from Osimhen’s camp.
🇳🇬 Napoli director Meluso on Osimhen’s contract situation: “The president will meet with Victor’s agent to discuss that in the next weeks”.
“It’s also normal for Osimhen to take some time in order to think about the contract proposal we made”. pic.twitter.com/mRzuVx9naG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 21, 2023
De Laurentiis, who rejected bids from Saudi Arabia and blocked bids from the Premier League last season while slapping a price tag of over 180 million on the player, has now arrived at a point where he feels there is nothing more to be done, per his most recent comments on the issue.
“I have never been unhappy towards Osimhen, but there are always two of us in these things. I have remained the same, if his mood has changed I can’t do anything about it,” the club’s president said in a recent interview. “If things change after a handshake, it’s disappointing, we take note of it but then life goes on.
“There are excellent relations with him, the contract expires in 2025, there is time. Don’t forget that I sold Koulibaly a year before his contract expired.”
Osimhen transfer battle on the horizon with Premier League interest intensifying
As reported on Goalball Live, Liverpool have a strong interest in competing in the Victor Osimhen transfer battle. The Reds’ interest has not been as heavily reported as Chelsea’s, however, who the Super Eagles striker supported while growing up in Lagos.
Fabrizio Romano: "Chelsea are absolutely one of the clubs being kept informed on the situation [of Victor Osimhen], and this is very normal because we know they’ve been looking for a new striker for a long time." pic.twitter.com/uxX0nDunyZ
— Vince™ (@Blue_Footy) October 21, 2023
Arsenal are also in the mix as well, with reports of the Gunners looking for a new striker making the rounds. But more recent reports indicate that Liverpool have reached an agreement with the former RSC Charleroi player’s entourage which puts them ahead in the Osimhen transfer battle.
Italian journalist Valter De Maggio made these claims. “The parties [Napoli and Osimhen] had reached an agreement for the renewal, but then Calenda and Osimhen went back on their word,” De Maggio said.
“What happened? There was the inclusion of another club, from the Premier League. I’m talking about Liverpool.
“There would be frequent contacts, but I just learned something else: there would be agreements already reached. Let me clarify: the agreements would be between the Reds and the player, therefore they would not involve Napoli. I hope Laurentiis will be able to keep Victor Osimhen at least until June, but we can’t be sure.”
Chelsea, who have wanted him since June last year and Arsenal who could lose Gabriel Jesus to Napoli, are believed to be stepping up their chase for the striker, who could now leave Naples as early as January 2024.
Osimhen is currently recovering from an injury he suffered on international duty with Nigeria and will not be back until late November.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 week ago
