Victor Osimhen: A Wanted Man
Either when he’s scoring goals or being linked with a move away from Napoli, Victor Osimhen never
seems to be out of the spotlight. Soccer 360 Magazines Stephen Kasiewicz explores how things have
played out for the Nigerian and his possible next steps.
The value of Victor
The future of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has been the topic of endless speculation for the best part of
the last two years, and it’s not about to stop. Throughout last season as he led the Partenopei to a
milestone third Serie A title, the conjecture surrounding one of world football’s most outstanding and
explosive goalscorers intensified to hysterical levels, with a daily stream of baseless stories associating
the Nigerian international to almost every leading English Premier League club.
According to the relentless rumour cycle, the dynamic attacker seemingly has his bags packed in
readiness to board a private jet to England at any moment with Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and
Manchester United all continually mentioned as possible destinations for the 24-year-old.
It appeared as if the leading scorer in Serie A in 2022-23 had agreed a contract extension in August,
however talks broke down before the campaign began as De Laurentiis rejected a colossal $154m bid
from Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal for the man who struck 26 times in 32 league matches as Napoli raced
clear of their rivals to clinch the Scudetto by a handsome margin.
The film producer turned club owner can always be relied upon for a colourful quote and quipped that
€200m would be enough for one of Osimhen’s feet and €500m would be sufficient to allow his star man
to leave for Saudi Arabia. Even allowing for exaggerated remarks such as these, the reality is that only a
handful of clubs have the financial might to make Napoli even consider allowing him to leave.
Despite contract discussions between club and player dragging on, nothing was agreed before the Italian
champions began the defence of their Serie A crown. That didn’t affect the former Lille forward as he
excelled early on, picking up from where he left off and registering six goals in eight league games
despite a never-ending background of incident and controversy off the field.
Indeed, the Osimhen chronicles resembled a badly scripted soap opera with a baffling new episode
delivered each week.
Although he netted twice on a 3-1 opening day victory at newly promoted Frosinone and followed it up
with another in a two-goal win over Sassuolo, things went downhill thereafter.
Napoli were picked apart on the break as Lazio recorded a stunning 2-1 triumph at Stadio Diego Armando
Maradona and the Partenopei were two down before rescuing a point at Genoa.
The usually prolific Osimhen fired blanks in both games yet far worse was to come at Bologna. The
Nigerian missed from the penalty spot and visibly showed his displeasure when coach Rudi Garcia
replaced him with Giovanni Simeone as Napoli sought a winner four minutes from time. He angrily held
up two fingers as he walked past the French tactician to the away bench, a clear signal that he believed a
front pairing would have broken the stalemate. Garcia’s substitution made no difference as Napoli
dropped points for the second consecutive week, yet it showed a strained relationship between the coach
and the star striker.
Rather than forget all about the scoreless draw the club inexplicably posted a less than flattering video on
their official TikTok channel which appeared to make light of Osimhen’s spot-kick failure. While the
misjudged video was quickly deleted the player clearly didn’t see the funny side as he removed all images of
himself in club colours on his own social media accounts.
It’s one thing for opposition fans to indulge in schadenfreude at the expense of a rival player, but it’s quite
another for a club to post anything remotely negative about one of their own players. The Nigerian’s agent
Roberto Calenda even suggested that he would take legal action against Napoli as the situation
deteriorated rapidly.
The chances of Osimhen extending his deal at the Campania based club beyond June 2025 when his
current contract expires looked slim to none in a fraught September week of claim and counter-claim. A
carefully worded statement, no doubt issued directly from De Laurentiis, appeared on the Napoli club
website which said there was no intention to mock or make fun of the attacker. It also added that the fact
Napoli had flatly refused to consider any offers for Osimhen in the summer was a clear indication of how
much they valued him.
No direct apology was offered despite the conciliatory tone of the public communication.
Osimhen eventually responded with his own statement which talked of his love for the people of Napoli
and his unwavering pride in wearing the club colours. It was all an unnecessary distraction from a mixed
start to the Partenopei’s title defence as Garcia struggled to emerge from the almighty shadow left by title
winning coach Luciano Spalletti. Nobody was going to adequately fill the shoes of history maker
Spalletti, who successfully built a relentless winning team, and the French coach was at an immediate
disadvantage from the outset of his tenure.
Osimhen didn’t entirely appear to be on his side either. Yet when the social media scandal dissipated the
skilful forward silenced everyone by scoring in four goal routs at home against Udinese and away at
Lecce. He even redeemed himself by converting a penalty although Fiorentina exploited all of Napoli’s
defensive vulnerabilities in a stunning 3-1 home reversal.
Just when Osimhen was returning to his best everything came crashing to an abrupt halt as he damaged a
hamstring on international duty for Nigeria in a friendly draw with Saudi Arabia. Allowed time off to sort
out a personal matter in his home country – a move which some interpreted as a peace offering after the
forgettable TikTok debacle – De Laurentiis again made the headlines.
He suggested the striker’s mood had altered after they shook hands on a new deal before anything was
officially agreed and even hinted that Osimhen could be sold. A media backlash prompted another official
club announcement which insisted the Napoli owner had been misquoted and it was wrong to suggest a
frosty relationship between the club and player.
The Partenopei faltered again with Osimhen absent as they fell to a shocking home defeat against lowly
Empoli in November, a loss which ultimately cost Garcia his job. Despite the turmoil the only way the
Nigerian will follow him out the exit door is if De Laurentiis receives an offer he can’t refuse in the
January window.
Of all his potential suitors Chelsea hold a couple of trump cards. The striker idolised Stamford Bridge legend Didier Drogba and owned a Chelsea shirt as a youngster. Blues co-owner Todd Boehly has a track record of forking out huge sums on players and won’t be put off by Osimhen’s $160m valuation. While the towering forward confirmed he is content at Napoli in an unlikely interview with former Italy striker Mario Balotelli, doubts persist if he will remain in Italy long term. Osimhen ruled out a move to Saudi Arabia, and said he would rather opt for Major League Soccer in the
United States than head to the Middle East. Then on the Obi One podcast, he detailed Al Hilal’s sustained
attempts to lure him away, explaining his decision to turn down the Saudi Pro League as ‘good for his
career’ over the financial rewards on offer. The only certainty is that there won’t be any discounts offered if De Laurentiis ultimately decides to sell him before his contract runs out. The Lagos-born attacker placed eighth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings and will only improve given the right environment to flourish.
Given the events of the second half of 2023, he has a lot to ponder before making the biggest decision of
his professional career.
