Lille Metropole of France striker, Victor Osimhen has received encouraging words from AS Napoli of Italy defender, Kalidou Koulibaly, who is urging him to put aside all worries and accept a transfer offer from the Italian Serie A club, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although recent reports are replete with speculation that Osimhen pulled out of an imminent move to Napoli last week because he is afraid of racist tendencies among the clubs fans, he has been assured in clear terms by Koulibaly that the situation is not as bad as it has been painted in the media.
Another angle to the story is that Osimhen would rather move to a club in the English Premier League than commit himself to La Parthenopeans, but the 29-year-old Koulibaly, who plays for Senegal’s national team, affirmed that the Nigerian youngster will find Napoli very conducive.
He went on to disclose that Osimhen has already reached out to him for advice, as the former VfL Wolfsburg of Germany and Sporting Charleroi of Begum lad called him to make an enquiry about racism in Italy and life at the Stadio San Paolo outfit.
In his response, Koulibaly, who arrived at Stadio San Paolo in the summer of 2014 from Racing Genk of Belgium, pointed out that he developed into one of the best defenders in the world due to the tactics and training routines he has passed through during his time at Napoli.
Although the Senegal international admitted he has experienced racist abuse in the European country, his advice to Osimhen is for the Nigerian lad to stay positive, as he says he is personally enjoying himself with the Parthenopeans and hinted that he could end his career at the Naples-based side.
Koulibaly told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “It is true that (Osimhen) called me. We talked about racism, I told him that coming to Naples he won’t have these problems, he will choose the right city. I too felt the bitterness of the racist insult, but never in Naples.
“I reassured him; I told him that if he comes, he will have the best choice. Then, the rest will have to be done by the leaders. In football, you never know what happens. I never spoke to the club that I wanted to leave.
“If we have to find a solution, we will find it, but I have never talked about the market. My family is doing very well in Naples and this makes me happy. If I have been here for six years, it is only thanks to them, because if they had not been well, I would have already gone away.
“My children speak Italian as well as French. At home, we speak both languages. Here we live peacefully, I hear that I will go away, but here I am fine, I do not understand why we should talk about the market when there is nothing on the horizon. Every day there is a new one. ”
