The messy transfer saga involving Victor Osimhen continues unabated after the striker was excluded from Napoli’s squad list for the 2024/25 Serie A campaign.
This leaves the 25-year-old in a rather bizarre situation and at risk of training with the club’s reserves for the foreseeable future, having been cast out of manager Antonio Conte’s plans.
Osimhen’s future was one of the biggest storylines of the summer ahead of the close of the European transfer window on Friday. While two clubs – Al Ahli and Chelsea – were in talks with Napoli to sign the Nigerian, both deals ultimately fell through.
Al Ahli are said to have agreed on a lucrative four-year deal with Napoli worth €70 million, with the Saudi Pro League side also offering Osimhen a salary in the region of €40 million per year. The contract reportedly included a release clause, but the striker did not consent to the transfer.
What next for Victor Osimhen as he misses out on squad?
Discussions between the player and Chelsea also collapsed at the last hour after Victor Osimhen rejected the Premier League club’s reported lowball offer of around €4m as an initial annual salary.
In anticipation of Osimhen’s departure, Napoli moved to sign Romelu Lukaku and have now reportedly handed the Belgian Osimhen’s number nine jersey for the season.
The Nigeria international has had an impactful four-year stay at Napoli, with the highlight being his contributions to their title-winning campaign in 2022/23. However, the striker’s relationship with the club appears broken beyond repair following a series of fallouts in recent months.
The signing of the former Chelsea forward Lukaku leaves no room for Osimhen, who has been left in the cold after being excluded from Napoli’s Serie A squad.
While any hopes of Osimhen joining Chelsea are now over, the Saudi Arabian transfer window remains open until Monday.
