The final week of the transfer window has arrived, which should prompt some urgency and some finality in a lot of the deals that have been floating around all summer. But in the case of perhaps the longest running saga of them all this summer, we seem no closer to a resolution.
Victor Osimhen was ultra-hot property a year ago after leading Napoli to the title, but since then he’s been in a tricky situation. The Serie A side still want €100m plus for him, but an overall collapse in spending this summer among the major teams, plus the striker’s indifferent form over the last year, has meant that no suitors are willing to pay up.
It feels like Chelsea have been in talks for months, if not years, with neither side willing to compromise. Osimhen looks set for another year in Naples then – but a recent statement from his agent Roberto Calenda has maybe shifted things a little.
🗣️ Victor Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda. “Osimhen is a Napoli player, with a contract recently renewed with mutual satisfaction. He made history and when there were major offers (also this year) we always accepted the club's decisions [to keep him].
“He is not a package to be… pic.twitter.com/V4zJvfqhff
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) August 26, 2024
Osimhen’s camp makes final attempt
The statement makes it very clear that a move to Saudi Arabia is off the cards for Osimhen. “He still has so much to do in Europe,” Calenda said in a statement. That does change things a little. With no Saudi option on the table, Napoli may now have to come to accept that they’re not going to get what they wanted a year ago for their prize asset, and with the days left in the transfer window running out, we may suddenly see them come to the negotiating table at last.
The question for Chelsea is how much they really want him. The need for an elite striker has been clear for a long time, but spending crazy money and breaking their wage structure to bring him in would be a huge risk.
Are they willing to back Nicolas Jackson again, or does this latest development bring Osimhen within reach at last?
