Victor Osimhen: Consigned to Undesired Transfer Choice
When the recently concluded summer transfer window opened in July, one of the most anticipated high profile moves was expected in the mould of Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, but after several back and forth, a move to Chelsea, Liverpool, PSG and even to Al-Ahli, all fell through, so much so that the supposedly one of the best goal poachers in the world was condemned to training with Napoli team B after the Serie A first team coach, Antonio Conte, declared that the Nigerian was not in his plan. Though the current African Footballer of the Year’s eventual loan acquisition by Turkish giants- Galatasaray’s was celebrated with pomp and pageantry, as fans lined up the streets of Istanbul to welcome the 25-year-old, his move to Super Lig was far from the dream transfer he had anticipated, considering all the big clubs earlier linked to his name
Victor Osimhen was linked with a move away from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona throughout the transfer window, but his reported £113m release proved to be a major stumbling block to a potential departure.
Napoli eventually dropped their financial demands in the closing stages of the window and it appeared that he would join either Chelsea or Al Ahli before the transfer deadline.
Chelsea failed in their attempts to land Osimhen, while it was reported that Al Ahli had agreed on personal terms with the striker.
However, the move ultimately fell through after Napoli supposedly raised their demands, resulting in Al-Ahli turning their focus to signing England international, Ivan Toney from Brentford.
After failing to secure a departure, Osimhen was facing the prospect of not playing any football until January following his exile from Napoli’s first-team set-up.
Napoli boss Antonio Conte had frozen Osimhen out of the squad and there was no way back after the arrival of his replacement Romelu Lukaku.
It then emerged that Galatasaray had struck an agreement to sign Osimhen on loan before the Turkish transfer window closes on September 13.
According to reports, Galatasaray will cover the player’s salary but there is no option or obligation to buy clause included in the deal.
Napoli have the option to extend Osimhen’s contract until June 2027, while they now reduced his release clause to£63.2m.
“Since I’ve started playing professionally, I’ve been the one making my own decisions,” Osimhen had told CBS Sports in January, “and everything is working out well for me.” Not anymore, though.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Osimhen was given a rapturous welcome after arriving in Istanbul ahead of the completion of his loan move to Galatasaray. He may have been all smiles – but this was not part of the plan. This was a most unexpected humiliation, an utterly calamitous conclusion to a transfer saga involving Osimhen and Napoli that has yielded no winners – only losers.
Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, admitted in January that the club had known since last summer that Osimhen wanted out and they were willing to let him go, too. Just not right away.
De Laurentiis understandably didn’t want to sell Osimhen immediately after the striker had scored 26 times to finish as the Capocannoniere at the end of a historic Serie A title triumph. Osimhen, for his part, was willing to spend another year playing for a club and fanbase that had shown him so much love and support since his arrival from Lille in 2020.
So, after painfully protracted negotiations a compromise was reached: Osimhen would sign a contract extension until 2026 and see his salary rise approximately to £9m per annum, but the new deal would also feature a buyout clause of £100m, which was significant as De Laurentiis had claimed during the summer of 2023 that it would take an offer of £170m for him to even consider parting with his most valuable asset.
According to reports, he had even turned down a £120 million offer from Al-Hilal. But De Laurentiis was happy to accept slightly less money if he meant getting another season out of Osimhen, and there was not a doubt in his mind that a top European team would meet the fixed asking price.
Indeed, in January, the Partenopei president went so far as to publicly proclaim that Osimhen would join “Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or an English team” during the 2024 summer transfer window. He however ended up in Istanbul instead.
The fact that it’s come to this is an absolute shambles, and reflects horribly on everyone involved: the club, the player and his agent.
De Laurentiis never should have so flagrantly flagged the fact that Osimhen was leaving unless he already had a buyer lined up. He has paid a heavy price for his hubris and lack of foresight, as interested parties tried to take advantage of Napoli’s mounting desperation to sell their wantaway striker.
Osimhen’s continued presence at the club also stalled their own recruitment strategy for more than a month – much to the frustration of the new coach, Conte, and the best-case scenario for Napoli now is recouping the €70m they paid to sign Osimhen from Lille when they had hoped to make just under double that figure.
The 25-year-old has chosen to wear the number 45 shirt for Okan Buruk’s side – a number that he feels brings him good luck.
Osimhen is set to link up with Nigeria’s squad ahead the two qualifying matches against Benin and Rwanda for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.
Once he has completed his international obligations, Osimhen will link up with his new teammates ahead of the resumption of the Turkish Super Lig.
Osimhen could make his debut in a home match against Caykur Rizespor on September 14, before his new side play host to Gaziantep just a few days later.
