Premier League sides could be monitoring the growing rift between defending Serie A champions Napoli and their record-breaking striker, Victor Osimhen, with the fallout from a now-deleted social media post by the club seeing the Nigeria international’s agent threaten legal action.
With 26 goals in the league and 31 in all competitions last season, Osimhen helped Napoli run away with the 2022-23 Serie A title – the club’s first in 33 years – as the in-demand front man shattered scoring records held by George Weah and Samuel Eto’o.
Despite also grabbing three goals in the defending champions’ first five games since the start of this season, Osimhen has found himself the subject of a bizarre video shared on his club’s official TikTok account that appeared to mock the player following his missed penalty in a goalless draw at Bologna on Sunday.
The video has since been deleted, but prompted a statement on Tuesday night from Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda.
Writing on X (formerly Twitter), Calenda said: “What happened today on Napoli’s official profile on the TikTok platform is not acceptable. A video mocking Victor was first made public and then, but now belatedly, deleted.
“A serious fact that causes very serious damage to the player and adds to the treatment that the boy is suffering in the last period between media trials and fake news.”
Calenda added: “We reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor”.
It comes after the 24-year-old striker appeared to voice his disagreements with Napoli manager Rudi Garcia regarding the new head coach’s decision to substitute him with four minutes of regular time remaining in the Bologna draw.
Though the in-game situation was reportedly resolved the following day, with Osimhen speaking to Garcia and the rest of the squad, the video posted by the club has seemingly reignited both the spat and transfer talk surrounding the player.
Osimhen has also removed all traces of Napoli from his Instagram account, leading the comments on his remaining posts to be flooded with a mix of responses, ranging from further ridicule to messages of support.
New beginnings in Naples
With his current contract set to expire in the summer of 2025, Osimhen has not signed a new deal with Napoli since being the subject of heavy transfer speculation this summer from clubs including Manchester United and Chelsea.
It was reported that a new agreement was close to being reached during the summer, which may have included a release clause worth £130m, but these recent developments could well have stalled those discussions.
Victor Osimhen’s record-breaking numbers
26 – the number of Serie A goals Osimhen scored in Napoli’s title-winning 2022-23 campaign, becoming the first African player to finish as the Italian first division’s top scorer. That tally also made the Nigerian striker the highest scoring African player in a single Serie A season, surpassing Samuel Eto’o’s mark of 21 goals for Inter Milan back in 2010-11.
7 – the number of consecutive league games Osimhen scored in during a stretch last season, making him the first player to do so in Napoli’s history since the introduction of the “three-points-for-a-win” era in Italy in 1994-95.
53 – including three in five games so far this season, Osimhen’s 53 goals so far for Napoli makes him the African player with the most goals in Serie A history. He has pulled clear of the previous record of 46 goals, held by George Weah since 1999, after passing that mark towards the end of last season.
Meanwhile, Napoli’s title-winning manager, Luciano Spalletti, stepped down at the end of last season before later taking up the Italian national team job vacated by Roberto Mancini, while former sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli joined Juventus and top centre-back Kim Min-Jae was snapped up by Bayern Munich over the summer.
Spalletti was replaced by former Al-Nassr coach Rudi Garcia, but Sunday’s pitch-side argument seemingly indicated Osimhen’s discontent with the new boss, who has so far struggled to replicate the team’s form under his predecessor.
Sunday’s draw at Bologna left Napoli trailing league leaders Inter Milan by seven points, their two wins in five matches only good enough for seventh in Serie A. The reigning champions finished last season sixteen points clear of second-placed Lazio.
Osimhen on the move?
Should the Nigerian No 9 take action to try to force an early move rather than simply running down his contract in Naples, it is reported that Chelsea could be among the sides vying for Osimhen’s signature once again.
The Blues have struggled so far under Mauricio Pochettino, floundering in 14th place after taking just five points from their first six Premier League matches.
While injuries in other areas of the pitch have no doubt played a role in that poor early-season form, only newly-promoted sides Luton (three) Burnley (four) have a worse league goal-scoring record than Chelsea’s tally of five so far in 2023-24.
Those deficiencies in front of goal extend back much farther than August, and don’t look likely to stop any time soon.
Christopher Nkunku arrived at Stamford Bridge full of promise this summer before succumbing to a knee injury that will have kept him out for the first several months of the Pochettino era by the time he returns to action.
In the Frenchman’s absence, Nicolas Jackson has failed to provide Chelsea the attacking spark they so desperately need, racking up five yellow cards (and a subsequent suspension) compared to just one goal.
If Chelsea could persuade Osimhen to ditch Naples for south-west London, and Blues owner Todd Boehly is willing to shell out another potentially eye-watering sum of cash to land the striker’s services in January – when Pochettino has reportedly made clear he would like another front man to be brought in – then perhaps he could shirk the recent number nine curse at Stamford Bridge and provide some relief to Chelsea’s long-time goal-scoring woes.
While Boehly’s sizeable and seemingly ever-open wallet might make Chelsea the most likely landing place if Osimhen does indeed leave Napoli, a few other top sides could also make for fitting suitors.
Interest from Manchester United may have dampened somewhat since their summer courtship of the Napoli striker, with the Red Devils having since signed 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund to fill their gap up front, while Liverpool‘s fluid frontline and multitude of attacking options means Jurgen Klopp may not be in any rush to jam an out-and-out striker like Osimhen into the mix.
Like Chelsea, Manchester City have big pockets – but the three-time defending champions also have one Erling Haaland, now supported by an in-form World Cup winner in Julian Alvarez, to make sure the back of the net is bursting each weekend.
In terms of team fit and needs, the north London duo of Arsenal and Spurs could be the other English sides most likely to inquire about Osimhen.
Despite Mikel Arteta‘s insistence to the contrary, the Gunners have themselves been reported to be scouting potential January pick-ups to bolster their options up front, as Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah continue to search for their shooting boots this season.
Brentford‘s Ivan Toney has been the man most heavily linked with a move to the Emirates, while Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez is another option reportedly of potential interest.
Both Toney and Gimenez would almost certainly come at a cheaper cost than Osimhen, for an Arsenal side who would already need to offload fringe players to avoid breaching Financial Fair Play regulations if making a big-money move in the next transfer window. Regardless, the Napoli front man certainly matches the profile of player Arteta is reportedly searching for – if Arsenal can stomach his hefty price tag.
Meanwhile, 15 goals for fourth-placed Tottenham so far has proven that Ange Postecoglou‘s men might not struggle as much in their post-Harry Kane life as some may have initially thought.
Yet however productive it has been in recent games, playing Heung-min Son out of position while the likes of Richarlison struggle to regain top form in front of goal may not be a sustainable long-term strategy for Spurs. Owner Daniel Levy is notorious for his reluctance to spend big, but perhaps some of the money brought in by the departure of their former captain this summer could go towards a potentially ideal replacement in Osimhen, should he become available.
Outside the Premier League, an argument could certainly be made that the side most in need of Osimhen’s goal-scoring abilities is Real Madrid.
Karim Benzema bid adieu to the Spanish giants over the summer, and he was replaced – perhaps only in position on the pitch, rather than ability – by 33-year-old Espanyol loanee Joselu.
With the former Stoke and Newcastle striker Brazil winger struggling somewhat to get off the mark, and usually prolific Brazil winger Vinicius Junior having missed games through injury, Madrid have already scored seven goals less than fierce rivals and La Liga leaders Barcelona (albeit with a game in hand).
Rather than rely solely on Joselu, or resort to having Jude Bellingham lead the line as has already happened this season, Carlo Ancelotti‘s side could benefit from Osimhen’s finishing if they are able to swoop in with a big offer during the January window. One caveat to that, of course, is whether Real’s higher-ups would be willing to splash the cash Napoli will likely demand, when a future move for Kylian Mbappe remains of interest and could cost even more.
Napoli are back in action against Udinese – with Osimhen named in the 24-man matchday squad – in the league on Wednesday night, before taking on Lecce this Saturday ahead of a Champions League clash with Real Madrid on 3 October.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/hLVTjcA
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