Two reasons Chelsea failed to sign Victor Osimhen as Napoli strip him of No.9 shirt
Victor Osimhen has been stripped of the number nine shirt at Napoli after his move to Chelsea fell through on deadline day, according to reports.
The Nigeria international has been linked with a move to the Premier League over the past couple of years as clubs looked to sign a proven goalscorer.
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis previously put a number of clubs off with his asking price of around €150m before dropping it slightly as it became clear that Osimhen wanted to leave.
His new contract has a release clause in there worth around £110m but Napoli’s demands still seemed to cause a problem on deadline day despite a transfer seemingly on for most of the day.
Initially it seemed that Saudi Arabian side Al-Ahli had won the race after agreeing a £67m transfer for Osimhen but Sky Sports reported that the Saudi Pro League club became ‘unhappy because the goalposts of the deal have changed and are standing firm on their original offer’.
That led Al-Ahli to seal a deal for Brentford striker Ivan Toney instead, leaving Chelsea a free run at sealing a transfer for Osimhen before the deadline.
Things seemed to be heading in the right direction when reports claimed that Chelsea had offered the Nigerian a €155k-a-week deal before transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed the deal was “completely off” on Friday night.
Romano wrote: “Deal completely OFF for Victor Osimhen. No agreement with Chelsea and delegation now leaving Napoli. If nothing happens from Saudi next 3 days, Osimhen will stay at Napoli but he’s NOT gonna be part of the first team squad. Relationship currently completely broken.”
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The transfer expert also revealed that Napoli have given Romelu Lukaku his No.9 shirt, he wrote on X: “Victor Osimhen has been excluded by Napoli’s Serie A squad list… and also number 9 will NO longer be on his shirt. Napoli have decided to give number 9 to Romelu Lukaku with immediate effect.”
And The Metro has revealed the two reasons that a Chelsea failed to sign Osimhen on deadline day with wages proving a big issue.
The Metro claim:
‘It was reported on Friday evening that Chelsea had offered Osimhen a contract worth €155,000-a-week, less than he is currently paid at Napoli.
Osimhen, who also attracted interest from Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal and clubs in Saudi Arabia, was unwilling to take the pay-cut even though he was said to be dreaming of a move to the Premier League.’
The report added:
‘A deal for Osimhen also failed to materialise as Chelsea began to prioritise a move for Manchester United flop Jadon Sancho.’
