Lille Metropole of France striker, Victor Osimhen has been hit with a hefty price tag of €50m, as officials at his French Ligue 1 club seek methods of holding unto him beyond this summer, megasportsarena.com reports.
With repeated media reports liking Osimhen with offers from several top clubs in England and Spain, Lille reason that they need to hold out for a big pay day if they cannot scare all the suitors away.
Consequently, a report by BuzzSport indicates that the roll of suitors for Osimhen, from Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool of England, as well as Real Madrid and Barcelona of Spain will have to weigh their financial options heading into the summer, if they are to formally bid for the Super Eagles’ rookie.
Indeed, of the lot, only Liverpool should real intent in January, as The Reds were linked with the 21-year-old striker in a testy move last month, as they aim to get first bragging rights on the former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany and Sporting Charleroi of Germany attacker, who has hit home 17 goals in all competitions for Lille so far this season.
The report adds that, although Lille were in no mood to deal with any interested club during the past transfer market, they could be tempted to open to a sale this summer, providing any of the clubs said to be on the queue for Osimhen meets their asking-price on the youngster.
The unfolding drama comes at a point Osimhen has received the nod to feature in Sunday’s Ligue 1 fixture against Olympique Marseille, as he is said to have recovered fully from a knock he copped last weekend.
In contrast with initial reports that Osimhen could be ruled out of Sunday’s encounter with OM, updated information out of Lille’s camp on Saturday morning revealed that the Super Eagles’ youngster is will be available for The Great Danes against Andre Villas-Boas’ side on Sunday.
This much has been revealed by Lille’s boss, Christophe Galtier, who confirmed that Osimhen is fit to play, as the lad has fully recovered from the injury he copped in last Friday’s 2-0 victory against SCO Angers, when he was replaced in the 80th minute of that encounter.
The 21-year-old Osimhen, who has been in fine form since his arrival at Stade Pierre-Mauroy last summer, with 17 goals and five assists from 34 appearances across all competitions, will now hope to add to his tally and help fourth-placed Lille claim their 13th win of the season.
Sunday’s game against Marseille will also provide another huge test of big time matches for Osimhen, who registered his 12th league goal against Angers and, having returned to full team training during the week, he is on course for another milestone outing on Sunday.
“Victor Osimhen trains normally. He had a simple cramp against Angers,” Galtier said in a pre-match press conference.
