Victor Osimhen’s move to Napoli is being delayed by negotiations over the striker’s image rights, The PUNCH has learnt.
Our correspondent gathered that the 21-year-old had undergone a successful medical at the Serie A club but is yet to agree on “some little details”, according to his agent and brother-in-law, Stanley Okolo.
“This (image rights) is something that can be resolved between both parties. It’s a minor issue which I believe will be sorted soon. There’s an agreement already with Napoli, so we wait for the announcement before Friday,” Okolo told The PUNCH.
The 21-year-old Lille striker is on the verge of completing his transfer for €80m, including bonuses and probably Adam Ounas as part of the exchange.
Napoli have also agreed on €5m plus, along with add-ons, according to reports.
Should the deal be completed this week, the Nigeria international will become Africa’s most expensive footballer.
He will eclipse Ivoirian Nicolas Pepe’s African record when he moved from Lille to Arsenal for £72m last summer.
Osimhen started his European career at Wolfsburg in 2017, going on to Belgian side RSC Charleroi, before his €14m transfer to Lille last summer.
He scored 18 goals and provided six assists in 38 games across all competitions for Lille and was voted the club’s player of the year last season. He also scooped the Marc-Vivien Foe prize for the best African player in Ligue 1.
Meanwhile, La Gazzetta Dello Sport revealed that Juventus and Inter wanted him years ago.
“Juve and Inter deserve credit for their scouting networks,” Patrick Bastinelli, Odion Ighalo’s agen, told the newspaper.
“I spoke to both Fabio Paratici and Piero Ausilio about Osimhen years ago and they both immediately appreciated the quality that would then flourish over time.
“However, at the time, Osimhen was only 17 years old and did not have an EU passport, so he could not be registered by a Serie A club. Therefore, due to red tape issues, the deal never went through.” (Punch)
