Victor Osimehn has agreed on a loan move to Turkish giant club Galatasaray after talks with Chelsea failed.
Victor Osimehn, a Nigerian-born talented striker who walked his way to international recognition after brilliant performances at the Italian side of Napoli was faced with issues that hampered his settling in at the Italian club side even as the season gears toward take-off.
Osimehn’s move to Galatasaray which was described as expedient by observers would appear as a lifeline for him especially as the Turkish transfer window closes on September 13.
Sky Sport Italia and RMC Sport also claimed that Napoli gave the all-clear to a dry loan—without an option to buy—as long as Galatasaray covered his full salary of nearly €11m per season.
While some may say it sucks to be Victor Osimehn right now, ENigeria Newspaper takes a look at the three difficult choices before the 25-year-old as itemized below:
1. Accept a massive pay cut (£150,000 weekly) and go to Chelsea to prove himself in the Premier League.
2. Accept a bumper pay (£646,000 weekly – TAX-FREE) and go to Saudi – automatically accepting the shuttering of his career at 25.
3. Remain in Napoli at his current salary (£253,000 weekly) but get no playing time as the relationship between him and the club is broken.
What changed for the African Golden Boy? In 2023, he led Napoli to their first Scudetto title after 33 years. He has scored 76 goals in 133 appearances since his 2020 signing and is a proven striker.
The crazy thing is that another Saudi Club Al-Hilal in July 2023 presented a bid of £120m for Osimehn with a weekly salary of £1m per week – TAX FREE.
At that time, there were warning signs – some issues with how some segments of the club treated him. Signs that there are forces determined to ‘cut him to size’.
In retrospect, not taking this deal then will appear to be a mistake as his stock has fallen significantly within one year.
Last year, Osimehn chose to stay at Napoli by signing an extended contract to 2026 but the first year has not gone well.
This year, he is still choosing to remain at Napoli. The difference this time is that he might not even get any playing time. Conte has made plans without him and his relationship with the club appears shattered.
The club even lowered his release clause in a bid to ship him off, and agreed terms with both Al-Ahli and Chelsea, only for Victor to back out of both deals.
Osimehn’s choice to call out former Super Eagles coach, Finidi George, on Instagram – leading to the latter’s resignation, may have also not helped his case and image. While some people see a player setting the records straight, others might see an out-of-control young man, a hot-head, ready to call out coaches if he feels slighted. For some clubs, he is a PR nightmare waiting to happen.
The whole transfer saga is also a negative for potential suitors in the future. Adding that to not seeing enough game time due to not being on Napoli’s first team means one thing: even lower valuations in the future. Only a miracle can avert this downward trend and Osimehn needs one.
Source: ENigeria Newspaper
