Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed the summer exit of Nigeria international Victor Osimhen following interest from top European clubs.
De Laurentiis disclosed this while speaking at the ‘Business of Football Summit’ on Thursday in London said Osimhen who has a release clause of €130m in his contract has been a subject of interest from top clubs in England, Spain and France.
Several reports have linked the 25-year-old with a move to the English Premier League with Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United all interested in signing the Super Eagles star.
Also, several French media outlets have reported that Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Osimhen as a replacement for Kylian Mbappe whose contract ends at the end of the season,
“Osimhen is a great player but we know: Naples is a fantastic place, there are some players who fell in love and stayed there like Hamsik for 11 years. Or like others for eight years. Others are attracted by Real Madrid, PSG, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Chelsea.
“So you can not stop them, especially when they have a release clause with which they can be bought, ” De Laurentiis said while responding to questions about Osimhen’s future at Napoli as reported by Tutto Napoli.
De Laurentiis further threw more light on Osimhen €130m release clause and what it means to the club
“Osimhen has a release clause. That’s a lot of money(€130m),” De Laurentiis added.
“Will he leave? We’ll see. Money is Napoli’s last problem. We have always made excellent signings as we have done in the past. The problem is only sentimental, because every time a player leaves it’s like saying goodbye to a child, but at the same time you are happy even when he achieves success elsewhere.”
The former Lille forward has been in fine form for Napoli since the start of the season as he bagged an incredible hat-trick to help the Serie A champions overcome Sassuolo 6-1 on Wednesday.
The treble took Osimhen’s goal tally to five in three games for Napoli since returning from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations and his 13th across all competitions this season.
It was his second hat-trick since arriving in Italy in 2020. The former Lille striker scored his first against the Neroverdi on October 29, 2022.
Osimhen has now scored 72 goals in 122 games for Napoli since his big-money arrival in 2020 and he is now joint fourth with Paulo Dybala in Serie A top scorers standings with 11 goals from 15 games.
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