Osimhen To Start Pre-season With Napoli Next Week

Victor Osimhen is expected to start the pre-season with Napoli next week as no club has yet made concrete offers for him.

Napoli coach Antonio Conte could meet Osimhen in Castel Volturno next week as no European club has yet made a formal offer to secure the striker’s services.

Osimhen has a €130m clause included in his contract with the Partenopei but despite rumours linking Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United with the 25-year-old, there are still no official bids on Napoli’s table.

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No club seems willing to pay €130m for Osimhen, and it may be difficult to find suitable candidates even if club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis lowers the price to €100m.

Now Football Italia is reporting that Conte is prepared to part company with the Osimhen, but if no club steps up over the next few days, he will have to start the pre-season with Napoli on Thursday, July 11, 2024.

According to Il Corriere dello Sport, Arsenal prefer Viktor Gyökeres to Osimhen even if they also consider the Sporting striker’s €100m clause too high.

However, Gyökeres has a lower salary than Osimhen, so the Gunners are focused on him currently.

On their part, Chelsea have changed their transfer targets after the appointment of the Italian Enzo Maresca, while Manchester United have set their sights on Joshua Zirkzee and will continue relying on ex-Atalanta ace Rasmus Hojlund, especially after Erik ten Hag was confirmed in charge at Old Trafford.

Osimhen dreams of playing in the Premier League, but PSG have also been monitoring the Nigerian ace.

PSG, however, seem more interested in Osimhen’s teammate Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and have already held talks with the winger’s agent, which didn’t go down well with Napoli.

Osimhen scored 15 goals and provided three assists in 25 appearances for Napoli last season.

He scored 17 goals in 32 goals in all competitions for the former Serie A champions last campaign.