Napoli confirmed the signing of Victor Osimhen last month. The Nigerian was one of the best strikers in the Ligue 1 last season and it was no surprise that he was a wanted man in this summer’s transfer window.
Osimhen was linked with a move to a number of clubs. Premier League sides Arsenal, Chelsea, the two Manchester clubs and Tottenham were joined by Real Madrid, Sevilla, Valencia, Roma, Lazio and AC Milan in pursuit of the striker who scored 18 times for Lille last season. (Le Foot)
Gennaro Gattuso’s Napoli sealed the deal for a whopping £63 million excluding bonuses and wages. (ESPN) That is a lot of money, especially in this difficult financial climate.
Most of the interested Premier League sides would not have been able to afford that transfer fee but Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, has claimed that Liverpool and Tottenham wanted the Nigerian ‘until the end’.
He told Radio Marte: “Osimhen was an obsession of Giuntoli, Napoli and their President. Napoli did everything to get him. The negotiation was exhausting. I can say that it was a well-conducted negotiation by the parties, which began long ago.”
“It was a difficult operation, Tottenham and Liverpool wanted Osimhen until the end, even Barcelona initially wanted him to replace Suarez. But Napoli did everything, they wanted him and took him.”
£63 million would have been too much for either club
Liverpool don’t really need another attacker unless one of their forwards leave. Tottenham, on the other hand, could have done with a player like Osimhen this summer.
Harry Kane still doesn’t have a backup. The Nigerian could easily have played in place of or alongside the Englishman to make Spurs’ attacker even more dangerous than it already is.
However, the £63 million asking price would have been too much for Tottenham to spend on one player this summer, especially after how hard the pandemic has hit clubs’ finances across the country.
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