Victor Osimhen Left In No Man’s Land After Chelsea Transfer Talks Collapse
Victor Osimhen is out of the picture at Napoli and was eyeing a move to Chelsea, but talks collapsed and the striker is now relying solely on a switch to Saudi Arabia
Victor Osimhen faces an uncertain few days after Chelsea missed out on the Napoli striker Victor Osimhen finds himself in limbo as he waits to see whether a move to Saudi Arabia can save him from the cold in Napoli.
The Nigerian had been among the most sought after strikers in Europe following several prolific years in Italy, but his fortunes have turned on their head in recent months. The arrival of Antonio Conte at Napoli has changed the dial with the new manager bringing in Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea.
The Belgian is now set to command the No 9 role in Naples with Osimhen snubbed in the early weeks of the season. Chelsea had been linked with a move for the striker but walked away from negotiations when talks went south and the English transfer window has now closed.
There are just days to run on the Saudi market with Al-Ahli thought to be keen on Osimhen – whose only route out of Napoli now appears to be in the Middle East. ESPN reports that the Serie A club had accepted an €80 million offer from Al Ahli to sign Osimhen – but the Nigeria international has expressed doubts about leaving European football.
However Al-Ahli have just completed a £40million swoop for Ivan Toney from Brentford and may now call time on their recruitment with the Saudi sides being far more measured in the market than they were 12 months ago.
That would leave the Nigerian still on Napoli’s books, but very much out in the cold with Conte seemingly having no plans to select Osimhen. That is despite the striker scoring 66 times across the last three seasons and helping Napoli become Serie A champions.
Conte has claimed that he inherited the situation surrounding Napoli and Osimhen despite the player signing a new contract back in December and starting in 12 of their final 14 games of last season
Napoli recently unveiled Romelu Lukaku as their new signing ( Image:
SSC NAPOLI via Getty Images) He said: “I will not talk about the players who are not part of the Napoli squad. You all know full well the Osimhen situation was already there when I arrived and will be dealt with exclusively by the club. I did not get into the situation. You all know that the transfer market is very complicated and currently blocked. I cannot say any more than that.”
Osimhen hasn’t even been included in a matchday squad for the opening two Serie A matches of the season – and that is without Lukaku being available to Conte.
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