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SUPER Eagles striker Victor Osimhen could become available to English Premier League clubs again after Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis gave the striker until the end of the week to conclude his transfer from Lille or he would pull out.
Over the last fortnight, Napoli and Osimhen’s current club Lille of France reached a deal worth €81m but the transfer has been repeatedly delayed by hiccups. Osimhen himself was reluctant to go to Italy because of racism concerns then over the last week, he sacked his agent who negotiated the deal, meaning the whole process had to start from scratch again.
With the transfer now uncertain, several English clubs including Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs, are believed to have made last minute enquiries for Osimhen. Unhappy with the constant delays, Mr De Laurentiis said it is now turning to a circus and has threatened to pull out of the deal.
French website le10sport.com claimed yesterday that Mr De Laurentiis, 71, is distraught that the transfer deal has yet to be struck after several weeks, despite the fact that Osimhen has already passed a medical. One key sticking point is the €5m fee being demanded by Osimhen’s new agent William D’Avila.
Apparently, Laurentiis wants the deal concluded this week, warning that if it is not, Napoli might be forced to pull out. According to Italian journalist Nicolo Schira, Mr De Laurentiis wants this transfer to be completed before the end of the week.
With the saga dragging on, Osimhen’s agent has offered the striker to Liverpool and Manchester United hope in their bid to land the Lille forward this summer. Osimhen’s family apparently want him to move to England if possible this summer as they too have concerns over Serie A’s problems with racism.
His former agent, Asita Okolo, said: “There is the racism issue as in Italy there is a big problem from my point of view, unfortunately, it is a widespread phenomenon. In any case, the final word on his future will be up to Victor and no one else.”
