Liverpool and Arsenal are set to miss out on Victor Osimhen with Napoli closing in on a £55 million, £45,000-a-week deal for the prolific Lille striker, according to Corriere dello Sport.
Just 12 months ago, the forward who had flopped at Wolfsburg was being handed a second chance in a major European league after an impressive campaign with Chaleroi in Belgium.
At the time, many a Lille fanatic might have expressed concerns about Osimhen’s ability to fill the sizeable void created by the departure of Nicolas Pepe’s mega-money move to Arsenal.
But they needn’t have worried.
The Nigeria international has stepped up in style with 18 goals in all competitions, while sparking comparisons with the legendary Didier Drogba.
The downside, however, is that a Lille side who have lost so many exciting attackers over the years are powerless to prevent Osimhen following in the footsteps of Eden Hazard, Pepe, Rafael Leao and more.
Napoli, it seems, are leaving no stone unturned as they look to secure the signature of one of Europe’s hottest strikers.
Corriere dello Sport claims that Osimhen has met Partenopei president Aurelio di Laurentiis after sharing a meal with Gennaro Gattuso at the coach’s own home.
We can only assume one of football’s most fearsome figures served up the bloodiest of steaks.
Now, it seems only a matter of time before Osimhen is signing a five-year, £45,000-a-week contract with the Coppa Italia champions expected to pay a fee in the region of £55 million.
This comes after L’Equipe, on Wednesday, reported that Jurgen Klopp had not given up hope of luring the 21-year-old to Anfield. His agent told AllNigeriaSoccer, meanwhile, that Arsenal and Tottenham had made contact too.
So there should be no doubts about what a coup this is for Napoli.
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