Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has addressed ever-growing talks linking his marquee striker Victor Osimhen with a summer exit.
Following his title-winning form in 2022/23, the club-record signing has emerged as a front-runner to replace Kylian Mbappe at Paris Saint-Germain.
However, De Laurentiis isn’t enthusiastic about letting the 24-year-old go just months after guiding Napoli to their first Scudetto since 1990.
“We will see Victor Osimhen wearing our shirt next season, that’s for sure,” he said, as quoted by Paola Rendina.
“Then if a more than indecent proposal arrives, we will move on and find another top talent as we did with [Khvicha] Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen.”
Napoli splashed out €70 million to sign Osimhen from Lille in 2020 and had to put up with his recurring injury problems during his first two years at the club.
Their patience paid off last season as the Nigeria international’s tremendous goalscoring capacity laid the foundation for the club’s long-overdue Serie A success.
Alongside Kvaratskhelia, Osimhen deserves much credit for the Partenopei’s inexorable march towards their first league title in the post-Diego Maradona era.
Given the Nigerian’s massive impact, it’s unsurprising that Napoli are desperate to fend off foreign suitors.
An obscene amount of money could be the only thing to change De Laurentiis’ mind, but it’s hard to find a club in Europe willing to indulge his insane requests.
PSG made an approach for Osimhen last month, but they didn’t like the information they collected.
Napoli stunned Les Parisiens with their exorbitant €180m asking price, dousing the French club’s optimism regarding a potential deal.
De Laurentiis’ statement is in line with the previous reports, suggesting the 2022/23 Capocannoniere award winner will likely ply his trade in Serie A next season.
Osimhen has recently encouraged Napoli’s hope of keeping him at the Maradona Stadium, admitting his affection for the club and city.
Unless PSG match the price that took Mbappe away from Monaco four years ago, the Napoli faithful should enjoy watching their talisman at work next term.
