Victor Osimhen could find himself embroiled in a lengthy investigation subject to his £70m move from Lille to Napoli back in the summer of 2020. When England arrives in Naples on Thursday for a Euro 2024 qualifier, Naples will play home to its first senior Italy international in almost a decade. But if Napoli wins its first Serie A championship since 1990, the atmosphere at Stadium Diego Armando Maradona will be nothing compared to what it will be in a few weeks.
Despite Napoli’s 19-point lead, star striker Victor Osimhen is causing anxiety off the field. It is hardly surprising that the 24-year-old Nigerian, who has scored 25 goals this season, is wanted by both Chelsea and Manchester United. However, there are speculations that the £70 million transfer of Osimhen from Lille in 2020 may cause the team serious issues.
The bizarre swap deal involving Victor Osimhen could land Napoli in Juventus-like trouble
Napoli’s Serie A rivals Juventus were recently assessed a 15-point fine for using fraudulent accounting to artificially inflate player transfer prices and manipulate FFP. It appears that Napoli may have taken a similar action. The investigation into the move has been requested by the Naples Public Prosecutor’s Office for an additional six months. A decision will be made in the summer.
And the reason is that four players who went the other way to Lille made up £17.5 million of the Osimhen trade. These were Luigi Liguori, Claudio Manzi, and Ciro Palmieri from the youth team, as well as goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis. However, Karnezis, who was 35 at the time, and the other three players never played for Lille. Since their contracts were quickly terminated and the younger players are in non-league, some of them had never even visited the French city.
It is clear that Victor Osimhen and a method of spending money on young players who are not covered by FFP laws were the real focus of the transaction. As a result, Napoli might be in sever difficulty. But Osimhen might already be playing in the Premier League by the time they are dealt with. Amidst interest from Chelsea and Manchester United, the Nigeria international had recently said of his future at Napoli:
“When you are doing so well, top clubs around the world are watching, mostly in the top five leagues. And to be able to be attract interest from these top clubs shows that I am doing great and it gives me the motivation to do even more for myself and my team. But I am focused on Napoli right now and they have the final say. I just want to help my team to win matches and win trophies. At the end of the season, we will see what is going to happen, but that is not up to me. It is for the club to decide.”
While the current Serie A leaders undergo the investigation, it is unlikely that Victor Osimhen suffers from a potential punishment. The striker is already gearing up for a summer move as evident from his comments, as the Premier League duo prepare a move for him. However, they are certain to face severe competition for his signature, given the likes of Real Madrid and PSG are interested as well to acquire his services.