Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester United have learned the price they have to pay for the services of Napoli forward Victor Osimhen. The Italian side are demanding £66 million for their star player and are not willing to negotiate any price below that with the interested parties. Osimhen arrived at Naples last season and has 4 years remaining on his contract and that’s the main reason for such a high valuation.
The 23-year-old Nigerian forward arrived at Napoli last season for the club-record fee of £68.6 million from Lille. But the most-expensive African forward has failed to replicate his Ligue 1 form in the Serie A. Last season he appeared in just 24 league matches after spending a few months on the sidelines due to injuries. He was still able to score 10 league goals with 3 assists.
This season he has missed the majority of minutes to a fresh injury but since his return, he has scored 5 league goals in 11 matches and 4 Europa League goals in just 3 fixtures. Osimhen also scored 4 goals in 6 World Cup Qualifiers matches and has scored a total of 10 goals in just 18 matches for Nigeria.
Osimhen was ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament, which starts tonight, after testing positive for the Covid-19. It is a big blow for favourites Nigeria as he was the top goalscorer in the qualifying rounds. He has returned to Italy and is expected to feature in the first team as soon as he gets recovered.
Napoli has confirmed that Victor Osimhen has tested negative for COVID-19.
The striker will now return to Italy. pic.twitter.com/pyPhg9fdsn
— Soar Super Eagles (@SSE_NGA) January 9, 2022
Chelsea Looking To Replace Lukaku With Victor Osimhen But Face Competition From Both Manchester Clubs:
Napoli are interested in selling their most expensive signing who is proving to be an injury-prone issue and they are looking to cough up the transfer fee they paid for Osimhen last season. There is no shortage of interest for the Nigerian star who has shown great potential to become one of the best strikers in the world in near future.
According to a report from El Nacional, Chelsea have enquired about Osimhen’s availability and valuation for the summer transfer negotiation. The Blues are reportedly looking for a new striker as they are ready to offload Romelu Lukaku next summer after the player hinted at his frustration at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is targeting Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland who will be available for just £64 million in the summer. But Chelsea are aware of the competition for the Norwegian’s signature and now identified Victor Osimehen as a backup option if they fail to land Haaland.
Premier League champions Manchester City are also working on finding a new big-name striker after the departure of club legend Sergio Aguero last summer. It is reported that Haaland is willing to move to the Etihad and is waiting for the official offer from the Citizens. But Pep Guardiola is exploring other options as well and keeping an eye on Victor Osimehen.
Struggling Manchester United will lose Anthony Martial in the winter window and Edinson Cavani is expected to depart in the upcoming summer. Cristiano Ronaldo will be 37 next month and was spotted with his agent two days ago to discuss his future at Old Trafford. Red Devils are expected to make a big-name forward signing in the summer and have started scouting Victor Osimhen recently.