Lille Metropole of France striker, Victor Osimhen’s much-publicised transfer to SSSC Napoli of Italy has been cast in doubt, as the said deal is yet to be confirmed by the Serie A club, even after widespread reports in the local and international online media all through Thursday stated that the youngster is on his way to The Land of The Azzurri.
Checks by megasportsarena.com revealed that nothing about a deal for Osimhen is being said by Napoli, as there is nothing on their official website that is related to the said transfer, which is a big-money deal that reportedly makes him the costliest Nigerian player ever.
No transfer update was posted on Napoli’s website as at Friday morning, with the latest update on their news segment being information about the club’s resumption of training with warm-up and technical exercises, focusing mostly on fitness recovery and physical work aimed at speed.
The update added that the return to training saw the squad divided into two groups, with the players alternating between ball possession and going for goal, after which they closed with a family game, but nothing was mentioned about Osimhen arriving from Lille, as was reported in several online posts the day before.
The report that spread like wildfire on Thursday disclosed that the 21-year-old Osimhen will put pen to paper for a five year deal with Gennaro Gattuso’s side after agreeing four million euros annual salary, which would total 20 million euros over the duration of the contract.
Transfer market journalist, Nicolo Schira, however, added that the deal will still fall short of the highest paid player in Napoli’s current squad, Italy international winger, Lorenzo Insigne, who pockets around 8.5 million euros annually.
The Italian journalist further disclosed that the Naples-based side that in years past had Diego Maradona on their cards, are looking for 60 million euros for Osimhen, who joined Lille from Sporting Charleroi of Belgium last year August for only 12 million euros.
However, while Schira added that Lille are willing to sell Osimhen if a bid of £54m (€60m) is made for him, a credible source close to the young striker insisted that the report about a deal with Napoli is just a transfer publicity stunt to curry more suitors for the striker and to shoot up his value in the forthcoming transfer window.
The source expatiated: “There are deals on the table from some European clubs, including Napoli, but I doubt if Victor is thinking of leaving Lille now. Maybe later, but not now. The offers look big and tempting, but he’s not prepared to damn the consequence of moving away from Lille. He didn’t sign any deal with Napoli, it was just an imagination of the media.”
Early Friday, Tribal Football writer, Carlos Volcano also reported that Osimhen has denied that he had agreed to join Napoli, and the lad was said to have told Omasports.com: “A lot of fake news about me agreeing a deal with Napoli is sickening for real. I’m surprised at the journalists, that say they are professionals. I find it amazing. Please disregard any fake news, when it’s time for my transfer, you’ll hear from me directly.”
