Italian journalist Enrico Varriale has revealed the reason behind Napoli’s difficulties in selling their marquee striker, Victor Osimhen in the ongoing transfer window, stating that some top leagues such as the Premier League and Ligue 1 are experiencing economic issues.
The pundit defended the Nigeria international by highlighting that he did not have a bad season at Napoli in 2023-2024, on a personal level, with the center forward registering 21-goal involvements (17 goals, 4 assists) in 32 games.
A week before the start of the Serie A campaign, Osimhen is stuck at Napoli with none of his suitors prepared to trigger his hefty release clause of 130 million euros.
The reigning African Footballer of the Year has already communicated to Napoli he wants to leave the club before the window closes and as a result, he was not called up for the five games played by Antonio Conte’s team in pre-season plus their Coppa Italia tie against Modena on Saturday, August 10.
Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea have been mentioned as possible destinations for the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup winner but there is no club-to-club agreement in place.
“Napoli is having some problems with the Osimhen affair, I thought it was guaranteed by the clause and that maybe there was already a team ready to pay it,” Varriale said.
“The real problem is not that Osimhen has played a season below par, but that some big leagues are in financial difficulty.
“Prices have dropped, while last year PSG spent 90 for Kolo Muani and 80 for Ramos. The real problem is that there is less money in circulation.
“We know that Napoli needs to sell Osimhen and the market is slow. Juventus’ situation with Chiesa is similar to that of Osimhen.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Nigerian stays. Market contingencies should not be underestimated by anyone, even in England some warning lights are going off, you can’t always spend
endlessly.”
