Rome (AFP)
Napoli are close to reaching an agreement with Turkish club Galatasaray to loan Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, without an option to sign him permanently, according to the Italian club’s director, Giovanni Manna.
Osmen is no longer in Napoli’s plans, as the Nigerian was not included in its list to play in the Italian League because the 25-year-old made the decision not to play again for the southern team, according to what Mana confirmed earlier.
After the summer transfer window in the five major European leagues closed, and thus Chelsea were out of the picture, Mana was asked if the possibility of Osimhen moving to the Saudi League was still there, and he answered a few days ago, “The transfer market (in some countries) is still open, there are many options, but I do not think Victor will go to Saudi Arabia in this transfer window,” especially since the registration window for new players in the Saudi League closes on Monday night.
As the transfer window in Turkey is still open, Galatasaray would be Osimhen’s next possible destination, Mana told Turkish channel Sports Digital, saying, “It is correct to say that we are in negotiations with Galatasaray and we are close to an agreement.”
If the loan deal goes through, Osimhen will join his former Napoli teammate, Belgian midfielder Dries Mertens, in addition to former Inter striker Mauro Icardi and Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi.
Italian media reported that Galatasaray will pay the Nigerian’s full salary of 11 million euros annually, while others spoke of Napoli’s desire to sign a new contract with Osimhen before allowing him to leave, because when the loan period ends, there will be one year remaining on his contract with the Italian league champions from the season before last.
In order to strengthen his position in any negotiations with teams wishing to sign the Nigerian next summer, the latter must sign a new contract extending until June 2027, before traveling to Turkey to undergo a routine medical examination that could take place this evening.
Although the transfer window in Turkey closes on September 13, Galatasaray is in a hurry to complete the loan deal because it has to submit its team list for the Europa League competition on Tuesday and wants Osimhen to be among them.
Osimhen was the subject of much interest during the summer of 2023 after scoring 26 goals in the Italian League, and was one of the architects of Napoli’s third title in its history.
But he had a disappointing season the following season, scoring only 15 goals as his team finished in tenth place last season.
Since Napoli included a €130 million release clause in his contract to allow him to leave, interested clubs did not pay this amount.
Chelsea and Al-Ahly did not agree with the Italian club’s demands or with the player’s demands regarding the salary.
Napoli signed a new coach, Antonio Conte, who decided to rely on Lukaku, coming from Chelsea, after the Belgian had previously played under his supervision when they led Inter to the league title in 2021.
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