Napoli striker Victor Osimhen appears to have distanced himself from speculation regarding a move to Premier League trio Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Newcastle United, writing on Instagram.
Then again, just because Osimhen doesn’t want to address the speculation, that doesn’t mean a potential big-money switch to England is not still a real possibility.
Perhaps, with a first Serie A title since the glory days of Diego Maradona in Napoli’s sights, the Nigeria international simply wants to focus his mind on what matters most.
Winning games, scoring goals and picking up points.
With just eight games remaining, Luciano Spalletti’s side are just three points adrift of league-leaders AC Milan in second place.
Osimhen may be ten goals behind Ciro Immobile in the Capocannoniere race but it must be mentioned that he’s started just 17 league games due to a fractured cheekbone. Far less than most of Serie A’s other Golden Boot chasers.
In those 17 starts, Osimhen has scored an impressive 11 goals, including four in his last two outings.
Is Victor Osimhen heading to the Premier League?
According to Corriere dello Sport, nouveau-riche Newcastle United are planning a summer bid. Osimhen is one of Arsenal’s top targets too, via The Mirror, while Antonio Conte has made no secret of his desire to bring in a clinical centre-forward to ease the burden on Tottenham talisman Harry Kane (TuttoNapoli).
But, in a social media post of the ‘cryptic’ variety, Osimhen sounded like a man determined to keep transfer speculation at arm’s length.
“I focus on my passion,” says the striker, who’s scored 25 goals in 55 games for Napoli. “The rest is just background noise.”
The Partenopei paid a club-record fee to bring Osimhen to the Stadio San Paolo less than two years ago.
Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis is hardly renowned for letting star players go without a fight and, according to Calciomercato, it would take a bid of 100 million euros (£84 million) to convince Napoli to cash in.
“Osimhen is stronger than (Dusan) Vlahovic,” says Serie A legend Alessandro Altobelli.
“In this moment, he is enjoying great growth. And, for me, he is better than Vlahovic.”
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