"We will see what happens in the next 20 days" - Serie A giants' chief confirms Arsenal and Chelsea target wants to leave
Napoli sporting director Giovanni Manna has said that striker Victor Osimhen - an Arsenal and Chelsea target - wants to leave this summer. The 25-year-old has been at the Stadio Diego Maradona since the 2020-21 season.
Osimhen played a key role in Napoli's 2022-23 Serie A triumph - their first league title in more than three decades. The Nigerian hitman contributed 26 goals and five assists in 32 games as the Partenopei reigned supreme for the first time since the 1989-90 season.
Coming off a lean league campaign last season - 15 goals and three assists in 25 games - Osimhen has been linked with an exit for a while. Manna has confirmed those rumors by admitting that the Nigerian striker indeed 'wants to leave' Napoli, telling Sky Italia (via TBR):
"Victor is a player who wants to leave. But we are calm because we know we have players in the squad who can replace him. We will see what happens in the next 20 days."
Osimhen is contracted with the Serie A side until 2026. But it seems like he might have already played his last for them, with the Metro mentioning that the Blues and Arsenal are among his suitors.
Arsenal and Chelsea target Victor Osimhen didn't feature in pre-season for Napoli
Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen is seemingly not in his club's plans for the season. That's because the Metro has reported that despite training with them during the summer, he didn't feature for the Partenopei in pre-season.
New boss Antonio Conte reportedly wants to reunite with Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, who seems to have no future at Stamford Bridge after spending the last two seasons on loan in Italy.
However, the aforementioned publication reports that Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis wants the striker's prospective suitors - which include Arsenal and Chelsea - to trigger Osimhen's release clause of €130 million.
PSG were briefly interested in adding the striker to their roster to complement the likes of Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani after Kylian Mbappe joined Real Madrid on a free transfer this summer. However, the Parisians are apparently not too keen to pay Osimhen's release clause.
It's important to note that the Blues have spent £200 million this summer, with their latest acquisition being Pedro Neto from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a reported £54 million move.