The 25-year-old Nigeria international signed a contract extension with the Napoli last December through 2026 with a reported release clause of €130 million ($143.91 million). Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis said Osimhen would leave at the end of the season, should a club trigger his release clause.
Chelsea were looking at Osimhen all season scouting him severally and discussing various ways to attack the situation. Napoli had a tumultuous season after a title winning season under manager Luciano Spalleti.
When the transfer window opened Chelsea inquired the details of the Nigeria international transfer and were put off by price tag reiterating that a deal would only happen if the fees was lowered. Ligue 1 Champions Paris Saint Germain registered their intrested in Victor Osimhen.
Paris Saint-Germain was linked to Victor Osimhen all summer, but the Nigerian didn’t move to the French capital. Napoli requested that Kang-in Lee be included in any potential deal. This came after Napoli initially asked for Osimhen’s release clause. From that point on, PSG didn’t entertain the idea of making a bid for Osimhen.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reported that Luis Enrique's side had agreed personal terms with Osimhen. Napoli were presented with an €80m + €5m in add ons which was agreed. @Buchi_Laba a Lagos based journalist on X reported that Victor Osimhen to PSG was 90% done until Napoli tried to short-change PSG by increasing the release clause. This made PSG to walk away. At some point PSG were interested in going back for Osimhen following Gonçalo Ramos’ injury. However, the club ultimately opted against it, with the French site reporting that Luis Enrique was opposed to the move, pointing that Osimhen did not fit with his vision and style.
All this time Chelsea were in concrete negotiations with Napoli to offload Romelu Lukaku whom the Blues have struggled to sell for the past three seasons following his big money move from Serie A Champions Inter Milan. After PSG walked away it looked like Osimhen was heading to Chelsea. A swap deal was turned down by both parties in order to make it a separate deal.
Chelsea insisted on only going for Osimhen if the conditions of the deal were right and the fee was lowered. Chelsea's objective was to lower the wage bill by looking to move their highest earners such as Raheem Sterling, Romelu Lukaku and Ben Chilwell.
Chelsea communicated to Napoli that Osimhen to Chelsea would only go through once they buy Lukaku. Napoli had several loan with obligations proposals turned down by Clearlake before eventually submitting a permanent offer which was agreed.
It appeared as though Napoli president De Laurentiis was pushing Victor Osimhen to Saudi Arabia with varous media outlets pushing this story. At this stage Napoli and Al-Ahli had reached an agreement for Osimhen after the Saudi Arabian side offered an €80 million transfer fee. They also offered the striker a lucrative four-year contract which would have seen him earn €35 million per year and he would also be provided with a release clause. This prompted Osimhen's agent Roberto Calenda to release a statement, “Victor still has so much to do IN EUROPE”.
All this time Chelsea were gaining confident of closing the deal. The Blues sent their staff to Naples to try and convince Osimhen to join the club. Lukaku to Napoli was done while Chelsea were still in concrete negotiations for Osimhen.
The stumbling block of Osimhen to Chelsea deal was his wages and salary. Napoli refused to negotiate with clubs in Italy. According to Buchi Laba who has good knowledge of the deal reported that apart from Chelsea there was a top 4 club in England that was willing to trigger the release clause for Victor Osimhen but were willing to pay in 4 years however Napoli declined to negotiate. This was 4 days after they pulled the plug on the PSG deal. Osimhen's priority was Chelsea after a collapse deal with PSG. As the deadline was approaching, Chelsea was the only European Club intrested in Osimhen.
The English Premier side drafted several striker options should Osimhen transfer collapsed. The list included Ivan Toney, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Johan Duran. Chelsea offered two offers of €130,000 and €140,000 a week. Just hours before the deadline SW6 offered €155,000 which would have seen him earn €85,000 after tax.
Napoli were expecting an offer from Chelsea who made it clear they will only submit an offer after agreeing personal terms with Osimhen. Clearlake owners were in Naples trying to finalise the deal but were still offering very low wages, not even half of what he was earning at Napoli. The Nigeria international communicated to the board that should his move to Al Ahli fall through he was going to stay. Ivan Toney fitted in Chelsea's wage structure. Al Ahli decided to move for the Brentford striker leaving Chelsea as Osimhen's only option hours before the deadline. The deal saw Brentord get £40m package for the British striker. All this time, Chelsea delegation was still at Napoli trying to solve the Osimhen saga. This was strengthened by reports indicating that the Saudi Arabian club can only sign one of Toney or Osimhen.
Chelsea offered both a loan, and later a loan with obligation, but couldn't agree terms with Osimhen. Osimhen's agent Roberto Calenda made it clear his client didn't want a temporary move. This stopped Chelsea FC from making quicker progress at the same time as sending Romelu Lukaku the other way.
Afew hours before the deadline Chelsea submitted a deal shit for Sancho's loan with obligations to buy from Manchester United. It is at this point that Osimhen to Chelsea collapsed and the transfer window closed.
Ironically according to Buchi Laba Chelsea sporting director Paul Winstanley reached out to Osimhen's camp on Saturday proposing a deal for January and that he was willng to offer Osimhen what he wants showing just how controversial they were with the Osimhen deal.
Turkish club Galatasaray has announced that they have signed Victor Osimhen on loan. Osimhen has also requested his release clause be lowered to €75 million. It remains to be seen if the saga will end in January.
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