🚨 Osimhen's situation "one to watch" in 2024 with Chelsea informed of latest updates
Napoli might find it hard to hang on to talisman
Ever since Napoli allowed their social media team to release an ill-advised post mocking their star striker, Victor Osimhen, relations between player and club have clearly been strained.
To his credit, Osimhen continues to get his head down and work hard, however, there’s little doubt that there’s a fracture in the relationship which needs repairing.
From the Partnopei’s point of view, they surely cannot countenance losing the striker who was a major part of why they were able to secure their first Serie A title since the days of Diego Maradona.
Club president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has appeared to somehow make the situation worse, forcing the official club website into releasing a statement suggesting that his words on the situation shouldn’t be seen as negative. Essentially, it was said that Osimhen had changed his mind over signing a long-term contract.
Daily Briefing columnist, Fabrizio Romano, has been right across this story from the very beginning and he released an exclusive update in his column on Saturday morning.
“So, what's the reality of this situation? Guys, from what I'm hearing it’s true that in August, Napoli presented a very important contract extension proposal to Victor Osimhen. The biggest salary in Napoli’s history was on the table to convince him to extend a contract which expires in the summer of 2025, but the contract extension is absolutely far from being done. There is no agreement, nothing has advanced or is progressing at this stage.”
That doesn’t bode well for the Italian outfit who will need to work hard and fast if they want to get a deal over the line. That’s because Premier League giants, Chelsea, are just one of a number of clubs being kept informed of Osimhen’s up to date situation.
“Chelsea are absolutely one of the clubs being kept informed on the situation, and this is very normal because we know they've been looking for a new striker for a long time,” Romano added. […] So let's see if Chelsea will decide to attack the situation because at the moment they're not negotiating and so we’re not even at the initial stage of this story.”
Potential interest from Man United wasn’t denied by Romano either, though it does appear that that ship could’ve already sailed.
“Guys, from what I'm hearing, Osimhen was on Manchester United’s list in the summer of 2022. Cristiano Ronaldo left to join Al Nassr and Osimhen was really appreciated by Erik ten Hag at that time, but then nothing happened. There was also an opportunity to do a swap deal between Ronaldo and Osimhen but Napoli decided to say no to that opportunity leaving Man United to invest the money on Antony.
“What's next? We will see because United are very happy with Rasmus Hojlund in that position now. Osimhen’s situation in general is going to be one to watch in 2024.”
The fact that the player is still stalling on the biggest deal in Napoli’s history could be interpreted in a number of different ways, however, Osimhen is sure to make his decision public when he is good and ready. He has every right to take his time at this point, given the enormity of the decision.
Is Victor Osimhen right to keep Napoli waiting? Should the Italians cash in on him while they can and is Chelsea the right move for him? Let us know in the comments.
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