…The Nigeria international was expected to join ‘Real Madrid, PSG or some Premier League team’, but he’s once again stuck in limbo
Victor Osimhen’s time in Turkey couldn’t have gone much better from a sporting perspective. The Nigerian scored 37 times in 41 appearances across all competitions as Galatasaray won a domestic double.
Usually, Europe’s top clubs would be queuing up sign such a prolific No.9, particularly as there are so few proven goal-scorers on the market right now – and yet, at the time of writing, only Al-Hilal have expressed concrete interest in acquiring the Napoli-owned attacker, with the Saudi Arabian outfit willing to make him one of the highest-paid players on the planet.
So, what on earth is going on with Osimhen? Why is a world-class forward who dreamed of playing in the Premier League seemingly left with no other option but to move to the Middle East? And why is he still so reluctant to do so? GOAL attempts to get to the bottom of the curious case of Victor Osimhen…
‘Madrid, PSG or some Premier League team’
Napoli knew that Osimhen wanted to leave as far back as the summer of 2023, so, in conjunction with the player and his representative, they eventually came up with a plan. Osimhen would sign a lucrative contract extension until 2026, but actually leave in 2024 for whichever club met his €120 million (£103m/$140m) buy-out clause.
As far as everyone involved was concerned, this was a win-win. Napoli would get another season out of the striker who had just fired them to the Serie A title before selling him at a massive profit, while Osimhen would be belatedly given the opportunity he’d always craved to join one of Europe’s elite.
Osimhen even revealed on January 23 that his future had already been decided: “I’ve made up my mind,” he told CBS Sports while on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. “I have my plan, I know what I want to do, the next step I want to take.
“I think 60 percent of people mention the rumours about me linked with the Premier League, and the Premier League is one of the biggest leagues in the world. But I just want to finish the season with Napoli strong, and then [follow through on] the decision I’ve already made.”
Just three days later, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis effectively confirmed that Osimhen would leave the club at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. Even more interestingly, the film producer revealed that the Lagos native would “go to Real Madrid, PSG or some Premier League team”.
Essentially, there wasn’t a doubt in De Laurentiis’ mind that someone would be willing to pay a nine-figure fee for the previous Serie A season’s Capocannoniere, with 26 goals in 32 games. Eighteen months on, though, and Napoli are still looking for a buyer at almost half the price.
No room at the Bernabeu or Parc des Princes
Circumstances certainly conspired against Napoli and Osimhen last summer. Real Madrid immediately dropped out of the race after signing Kylian Mbappe, and though the France captain may have moved to Santiago Bernabeu on a free transfer, but the Spaniards still invested a colossal sum of money in Mbappe, whom they wanted to deploy as a centre-forward in order to squeeze him into Carlo Ancelotti’s starting line-up. Consequently, Madrid simply didn’t have sufficient space for Osimhen, either on their wage bill or in their already stacked attack.
As for Paris Saint-Germain, Luis Enrique decided that he had no need of another orthodox No.9 – even in spite of an early-season injury to the inconsistent Goncalo Ramos. The former Barcelona boss wanted wingers – lots of them, in fact – so he turned down the chance to sign Osimhen during the summer in favour of belatedly bringing in his former Napoli team-mate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia during the 2025 winter window. It proved an inspired choice, as PSG’s fantastically fluid forward line played a starring role in the Qatari-backed club winning the Champions League for the first time.
The long-mooted move to the Premier League very nearly materialised at the end of the window, though.
Late moves collapse
Despite spending more than a billion pounds on players, Chelsea were still crying out for a reliable goal-scorer, so their late bid to sign Osimhen made an awful lot of sense. It was a transfer that would have also allowed the Nigerian to follow in the footsteps of one of his childhood heroes, Stamford Bridge icon Didier Drogba. However, the proposed deal reportedly collapsed over Osimhen’s exorbitant wage demands. At almost exactly the same time, Al-Ahli were trying to convince Osimhen to join them, which was far from straightforward.
When Kvaratskhelia’s agent publicly stated in November 2023 that Osimhen would move to Saudi Arabia the following summer, the former Lille ace reacted furiously to the claim. “Dear Mamuka Jugeli, you are a piece of filth and a disgrace,” he wrote on Instagram. “I’m embarrassed at your sense of reasoning. Dumbf*ck! KEEP MY NAME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH!”
While the primary source of Osimhen’s rage appeared to be someone else sticking their nose into his business, he also seemed annoyed by the suggestion that he would favour a lucrative switch to Saudi Arabia over a transfer to a Champions League contender – a suspicion that was only strengthened by his agent, Roberto Calenda, subsequently stating that “Victor still has so much to do in Europe.”
Nonetheless, with the clock ticking as the close of the 2024 summer window approached and his options diminishing rapidly, Osimhen allegedly accepted a gargantuan offer from Al-Ahli, only for the Saudi Pro League side to walk away from the deal after Napoli allegedly upped their asking price at the last minute, much to the frustration of the player.
By this point, the two parties’ relationship had completely broken down, meaning there was no chance of Osimhen staying at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona – not least because Napoli had already brought in Antonio Conte favourite Romelu Lukaku to replace him. In such acrimonious circumstances, a season-long loan at Galatasaray represented an agreeable outcome for both the player and his employers, as it essentially afforded them all more time to find a long-term solution to their shared problem.
Unfortunately for Osimhen and Napoli, not much has changed in the interim.
What now?
Osimhen’s loan spell at Galatasaray officially came to an end on Monday, and yet he’s still stuck in limbo. Basically, as it stands, the Turkish champions can’t afford him, while the Italian champions don’t want him.
Napoli won the Scudetto without Osimhen and the club’s proud and passionate supporters no longer have any time for a perceived traitor that turned his back on a city that had embraced him as one of their own. As it stands, though, he’s obliged to return to Naples in less than a fortnight’s time for a mandatory medical ahead of the commencement of the club’s pre-season programme – which could be awkward to say the least.
A lot could obviously happen between now and then, and the hope is that a resolution can soon be found, not least because the buy-out clause that previously stood at €120m was lowered to €75m (£65/$84m) as part of the agreement he signed with Galatasaray. Napoli made that reduction a stipulation of the deal in order to make it easier for themselves to offload Osimhen, but there still aren’t any takers, which is somewhat puzzling because it’s not as if Osimhen’s efficacy or professionalism have been called into question during his time in Turkey.
“Since arriving in Istanbul, Osimhen has actually gone beyond expectations, displaying a level of commitment and character that even surpassed what he showed at Napoli,” says Idil Erin of GOAL Turkey. “His humility and behavior off the pitch, combined with his performances on it, have won over fans across the league. And it seems he values the love, respect, and admiration he’s received in return.”
In that sense, a permanent return to Gala still cannot be ruled out, even if some serious financial concessions would need to be made – either by Osimhen or Napoli – for such a deal to happen.
No concrete EPL interest
It’s also clear that the player favours a transfer to a team in one of Europe’s ‘Big 5’ leagues, so it really is odd that he has yet to receive any firm offers – particularly from England.
After all, while there are very few vacancies up front among the continent’s top teams, several Premier League heavyweights are presently looking for a No.9.
Of course, Chelsea now appear to be out of the running after signing both Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, but one cannot help but wonder why the Blues didn’t resurrect their interest in Osimhen, who would be a safe bet to score more goals in England’s top-flight as their two new strikers combined.
Arsenal’s lack of interest is even more bizarre, though, given the Gunners are presently mulling over the merits of paying mad money for either Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres – two players with nothing like the same pedigree or quality as Osimhen.
Liverpool, meanwhile, have already spent plenty of cash this summer, meaning they could be reluctant to pay Osimhen the kind of wages he’s seeking. Still, with Darwin Nunez set to depart, and Diogo Jota’s fitness a continuous cause for concern, the Reds are likely to need a new striker whether they want to deploy Florian Wirtz as a false nine or not.
Osimhen would undoubtedly add a different dimension to the champions’ attack for half the price of dream signing Alexander Isak – or maybe even less…
Another shambolic summer saga?
There is a feeling among market observers that some European sides are playing a waiting game here – just like Osimhen himself. Just because of the figures involved, the likelihood remains that he’ll end up in Saudi Arabia, on account of the asking price but also the fact that Osimhen is still pricing himself out of a move to the kind of club his talent merits.
However, he rejected a move to Al-Hilal before the start of their Club World Cup campaign to keep his options open, and the buy-out clause in his contract for overseas clubs expires on July 15, meaning that if there is move movement before then, Napoli might well have to accept an even lower fee for Osimhen just to get his salary off their books as quickly as possible.
In such a scenario, he would become a much more attractive option to one of Europe’s strongest sides, and it’s also well worth noting that Napoli coach Conte is keen on signing Nunez from Liverpool, meaning some sort of player-plus-cash swap deal is not beyond the realms of possibility at this stage.
It’s a similar story with Juventus. They may be Napoli’s hated rivals and have just picked up Jonathan David on a free transfer, but the Bianconeri have a longstanding interest in Osimhen and are looking to offload a highly-paid but unwanted striker of their own in Dusan Vlahovic…
Certainly, some sort of compromise will certainly have to be reached before the close of the transfer window – because neither Napoli nor Osimhen will want a repeat of last summer’s shenanigans. De Laurentiis literally can’t afford to allow the current impasse to continue, while Osimhen clearly doesn’t want to waste his peak years.
A little humility and common sense is badly needed right now, but whereas the pair had a plan not so long ago, they no longer seem to have any idea what they’re doing.
