After Napoli fallout, Victor Osimhen in great demand, Details here

Victor Osimhen is a man in demand. If Osimhen decides to leave Napoli in January, Saudi Arabian teams will be the first to pursue him. This is after his attorney threatened legal action against Napoli over contentious TikTok videos. Due to TikTok videos that the reigning Italian champions posted and later deleted, Osimhen’s future is now in doubt.

Victor Osimhen could leave Napoli in January

There were two videos uploaded on TikTok by Napoli that have been the cause of the issue. One video focused on his missed penalty in Sunday’s scoreless draw with Bologna. Victor Osimhen, who has 62 goals in 107 games for the Serie A team, seldom misses. But the video seemed to ridicule him for trying to get the penalty called.

Victor Osimhen was shown in the video pleading for a penalty but using an odd sped-up voice with the phrase, “Gimme penalty please,”. Then, the video showed him firing the spot-kick wide. A second video, purportedly from the club’s account, was extensively shared online before being taken down. This was because it compared Osimhen to a “coconut,” which is commonly seen as a racist insult.

Victor Osimhen has deleted all photos and videos featuring a Napoli shirt on his Instagram Napoli after the club posted a video mocking the player on TikTok. pic.twitter.com/ZHCuLSD2js
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 27, 2023

Roberto Calenda, Victor Osimhen’s agent, has threatened the club with legal action. This has fueled rumours that he would try to get Osimhen to leave the team. According to Mail Sport, should Osimhen become available in the January transfer window, Saudi Arabian teams would lead the race to sign him. Clubs in the Saudi Pro League made significant transfers over the summer. They signed the likes of Karim Benzema, N’golo Kante, and Aymeric Laporte, amongst others.

Real Madrid, Chelsea interested in Osimhen too

Victor Osimhen is a player who Real Madrid are also interested in. The Spanish powerhouses are looking to bolster their assault after losing Benzema. Jude Bellingham, a midfielder, presently has the most goals scored at the club with six, followed by Joselu, a seasoned forward, with two.

In spite of their goal-scoring problems, Chelsea is said to be interested in Victor Osimhen, who led Napoli to their first league title in more than 30 years last season. In six games this season, the Blues have only scored five goals, three of which came in a meeting against recently promoted Luton.

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Chelsea’s pursuit would be hindered by their new wage structure that Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital will implement after taking control in 2022. The Champions League qualification-linked incentive compensation structure that Chelsea’s owners have implemented causes players’ salaries to vary depending on whether they are participating in the competition.

The fact that Victor Osimhen’s contract expires in June 2025 would force Napoli to think about selling him. This would be during either the January or summer transfer windows. The attacker had recently been connected to Manchester United and PSG. Napoli values Osimhen at something close to £150 million.

Football