Victor Osimhen: First extension, change requested a short time later
The difficult relationship between Napoli and Osimhen has gotten really bad over the last few weeks. The drama surrounding questionable TikTok posts from the official Napoli account and public accusations during smooth contract talks seemed to be over when the former Wolfsburg player signed a new working paper in December 2023 to keep him in Naples until 2026.
When West Ham brought in Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano in a double pack: A lazy coup indeedBut that did not stop him from making it clear a short time later, both publicly and internally, that he wanted to move in the summer of 2024. He spoke about the “next step” in his career, publicly praised the Premier League and declared: “I want to finish the season strongly with Napoli and then fulfill the decision I have already made.”
This did not go down well with Napoli’s owners, powerful club boss Aurelio De Laurentiis and sporting director Giovanni Manna. But they seemed unperturbed and quoted a fixed transfer fee of 130 million euros.
For a long time, little happened in the last transfer period. It was rumored that PSG was interested in Osimhen as a new addition to the offensive line after the departure of Kylian Mbappe. However, the interest did not materialize. Other doors also closed: Manchester United brought in former Bayern attacker Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna for the strike center, while Arsenal FC, who were also believed to be interested, decided not to sign a real number nine.