Tag: Victor Osimhen

The timing  of this year’s  2025 Africa Cup of Nations(AFCON) could stop the much-talked about  summer transfer  of Victor Osimhen to English Premier League side, Chelsea.

The Nigerian centre-forward and Napoli loanee  is set to be one of the most in-demand players at the end of this season with it being no secret that he is pushing for a permanent exit from Napoli. Last summer, the Blues were keen to bring the 26-year-old to Stamford Bridge to help improve their attack after  they  missed out on signing him last  summer  amid ‘difficult  negotiations’.

Facing the prospect of at least half a season wallowing in Antonio Conte’s reserves, the striker agreed to join Galatasaray on loan for the remainder of the campaign thanks to the Turkish window’s longer deadline.

In Turkey, Osimhen has excelled scoring 29 goals in 33 appearances for the club. It has been widely reported that the forward would like to avoid a potential repeat of what happened last year and, as such, would be keen to organise a move sooner rather than later.

Chelsea are still be keen on Osimhen with a bid of as little as £63m thought to be enough to secure his services. However, should he sign for the Blues, he is set to miss as many as ten matches.

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This is due to FIFA’s decision to move the AFCON  from the proposed date of this summer to the end of the year and beginning of 2026.

The AFCON will be held between December 21 in Morocco and run until January 18. Nigeria have qualified for the tournament and barring any major fallouts or injuries, Osimhen is expected to be on the plane.

Should the Super Eagles go all the way  and reach  January 18  AFCON Final Match  in Rabat, Osimhen may miss as many as 10 matches for the Blues.

This , according to London Football, could ultimately persuade Osimhen to join a club that does have a winter break so as to avoid missing important matches over Christmas and the New Year. It will also be a factor that Chelsea will have to consider should they choose to bid for the 26-year-old again.

Former Napoli forward Dries Mertens feels Galatasaray suits Victor Osimhen more than Napoli: ‘More peace and less pressure.’

Osimhen is on loan at Galatasaray from Napoli, but he’s expected to return to the Stadio Maradona in the summer when he’ll be available for a €75m release clause.

The Turkish giants lead José Mourinho’s Fenerbahce by just three points in the Turkish Super Lig table, and fans using Discount Codes are finding intriguing odds in the race for the domestic title in Turkey, which is just as unpredictable as Serie A’s.

Mertens has contributed to Gala’s excellent results this season with four goals and 11 assists in 27 league matches, while Osimhen has netted 20 times in 23 games in the Turkish Super Lig.

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“Today he’s among the top three strikers in the world,” Mertens told Obi One Podcast via TMW. “He creates space and helps his teammates. He just needs to keep believing in himself. I care a lot about him. We’re close in Istanbul; our children are great friends. Life is more relaxed here, maybe even better than in Naples, more peace and less pressure.”

Mertens still has a solid bond with the Partenopei, having played nine seasons at the club, becoming the all-time Napoli top scorer.

His strong link with the club and the city led the Napoli fans to nickname Mertens ‘Ciro’ the same name the Belgian striker gave to his son.

 “It’s a typical Neapolitan name,” Mertens continued. “He was born during my last season at the club, and knowing that I’d be leaving, I wanted to give him that name so I could always carry a part of the city with me.

“At first, my wife was against it, but then she changed her mind. She also wanted to cherish the memory of a fantastic adventure.

“Football is a religion in Naples,” Mertens added.

“In order to really understand it, you must know their history. Maradona changed everything, bringing the first Scudetto to a city of the south, when it seemed impossible for them to compete with the north.”

Mertens may not have won the Scudetto in Naples, but he made history indeed, becoming the best scorer at Napoli and scoring even more goals than Maradona.

“It was incredible. I was a reserve when I arrived, but then I started scoring and providing assists. When Higuain left and Milik got injured, Sarri told me: ‘Now, you’ll play as a striker.’ It was the most important season in my career with 35 goals, something I’d never expect.”

Mertens’ contract with Galatasaray expires at the end of the season.

He joined the Turkish giants on a free transfer in 2022 after his contract with the Partenopei expired.

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen has commended  his teammates for  his two goals that  secured  victory  for his side  against a tough Fenerbahce in their Turkish Cup quarter final tie on Wednesday.

The win atoned for their previous loss to Besiktas which ended their unbeaten run at the  start of the season, was celebrated wildly by Osimhen and his teammates.

Going into the cup encounter, Galatasaray were yet to come over the defeat to Besiktas which truncated their 27-game unbeaten streak in the league and with the cup game against Fenerbahçe coming almost  immediately,  it was an opportunity  for them to bounce back.

Despite the hostile reception in the stadium, Galatasaray wasted no time in asserting their dominance, with Osimhen scoring a brace within the first 27 minutes to silence the home crowd. While Fenerbahçe got a goal back courtesy of Sebastian Szymanski’s strike, they were unable to overturn the game, crashing out of the cup in dramatic fashion.

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“First of all, we know that Fenerbahçe matches are intense and difficult matches. We needed to focus until the final whistle,” Osimhen told journalists.

He continued:  “We were optimistic when we came in, but we made our fans unhappy in the last match. We had to win to make up for that. We will look ahead. We will go match by match.

 “I love Galatasaray very much. Of course, it is important to score goals in the derby, but I would not have been able to score these goals if my teammates did not do very important things. I will continue to do everything I can for the team,” he added.

Osimhen expressed his gratitude for the love he has received from the club, vowing to repay this affection with outstanding displays on the pitch:

 “I’ve said it before, since I came here I’ve loved this place, this club, the people here. I want to reciprocate their love by working hard. It was important to score in the derby, but I would also like to thank my teammates. I want to continue this performance and do my best for this team.”

Rwanda are aware that Victor Osimhen is on top form and so they will need to stop him on Friday, according to the spokesman of the FERWAFA, the Rwanda football federation.

Osimhen scored his first hat-trick in Turkey just before the international break and he is now the leading scorer in the Super Lig with 20 goals for Galatasaray.

 “Osimhen is on fire and you would try to stop him in this match,” FERWAFA communications manager Oliver Maurice. “Nigeria have top quality players, but we’re not afraid, we only respect them.

 “Nigeria have never won in Rwanda, we’re all excited ahead of this match and our fans will troop out in their numbers to support the team.”

Speaking in the same  vein, Edmund Okai Gyimah , a correspondent with The New Times of Rwanda,  has equally posited  that  the Amavubi  must be  at their best to ward off  the expected onslaughts  from the red-hot Galatasaray  striker as he drew reference  from the two team’s last encounter in Uyo last November.

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He explained: “During the previous match at the same venue (in Uyo)  last year, it was Rwandan goalkeeper Fiacre Ntwari against Nigeria’s menacing attack. Ntwari pulled as many as 11 brilliant saves to keep his side in the game.

Osimhen came into that game in the second half and had three good chances saved by Ntwari. The Galatasaray striker is likely to start on Friday and centre r backs Ange Mutsinzi and Thierry Manzi must man-mark him.

“They shouldn’t give Osimhen any room to operate as he just needs one chance to cause havoc. He will be coming into the game like a wounded lion and the Amavubi guardsmen should be able to frustrate him,” he added.

Group C leaders Rwanda will welcome the Super Eagles to the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali tomorrow with the kick-off  slated for  5pm Nigerian time.

Several European clubs, including Barcelona, have targeted Victor Osimhen, but according to Corriere dello Sport, the Catalans hope Napoli will lower their €75m price tag in the summer.

Barcelona are among the clubs interested in signing Napoli striker Osimhen, who is currently out on loan at Galatasaray.

The Nigerian striker has a €75m clause in his contract with Napoli. The deal runs out in June 2026, but the Serie A side have an option to extend it for a further campaign to avoid losing their former hero for free next year.

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Nevertheless, according to Corriere dello Sport, Barcelona hope Napoli will consider offers below Osimhen’s €75m clause next summer as the Nigerian is among their targets for 2025-26.

Barcelona star Robert Lewandowski has already netted 35 goals this season, more than in any other campaign in Catalunya, but the club is reportedly looking for a long-term replacement for the 36-year-old.

According to the report, Osimhen isn’t the only Barcelona target in attack. The Catalans are also monitoring Newcastle’s Alexander Isak, Sporting CP’s Victor Gyokeres, Jonathan David, and Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic.

Antonio Conte’s Napoli are ready to offer Rasmus Hojlund a summer return to Serie A – and Super attacker, Victor Osimhen could go to Manchester United as part of the deal.

Manchester United striker Hojlund has struggled for goals so far this season and Napoli are keen to bring him back to Serie A as part of a swap deal involving Victor Osimhen.

The Danish striker has scored only 13 Premier League goals since his £72m transfer from Atalanta in August 2023.

And Hojlund is on Napoli’s hit list of forwards as they plan a transfer splurge before they return to the Champions League next season. Former Chelsea and Spurs boss Conte wants up to seven new players – and another forward to offer competition to Romelu Lukaku.

Hojlund, 22, ended a 21-game run without a goal at Leicester City on Sunday but Manchester United would listen to offers this summer. Speaking after his goal against Leicester, Hojlund said: “I think it comes down to my performances as well.

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“I think obviously I’ve not been on top of my game as I wanted to and we’re still adapting to a new system and some new positions. But I think I’ve been growing into it lately and starting to look a bit better.

“But I’m just happy to get on the score sheet and I’m sure they will come more now. I’m happy, but it’s not all about goals. I’m obviously very happy to get my goal and it gives me a lot of confidence.”

La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed  the Dane would welcome a return to Italy but the Premier League club would want £50m – a price beyond the Italian club.

But Napoli will have money to spend after the £59m January sale of Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to Paris-Saint Germain while Osimhen, who is on loan at Galatasaray, is available this summer for £63m.

The Nigeria striker is the leading scorer in the Turkish top flight with 26 goals in all competitions. His strong form this season has also attracted the attention of Paris-Saint Germain and Juventus. Arsenal and Chelsea also need a new striker this summer.

Napoli, who are second in Serie A, brought Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour from the Premier League last summer.

Super Eagles star striker Victor Osimhen has declared the team is fired up to make up for previous disappointments to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

They will be guests of Rwanda in Kigali next week, before they welcome Zimbabwe to Uyo four days later.

Osimhen has now made a rallying call to action on behalf of the Super Eagles.

“There’s a new manager now and we are desperately looking forward to the game against Rwanda to try to correct all the previous mistakes we’ve made and put ourselves in a better position to qualify,” Osimhen said.

“People say we have a talented generation but we can only confirm this talent when we play in a World Cup like those before us.

“I was sad, like my team-mates, to miss out on Qatar and our fans didn’t even understand how much it affected us.

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“This is why we must correct the previous mistakes by giving everything to our country, our new coach and prove ourselves as being worthy.”

He said he hopes to personally feature in his first World Cup.

“It’s a dream of every footballer to play at the World Cup and with our situation in the group I am desperate, like other players, to make it to the 2026 tournament,” he said.

“We suffered a big disappointment in 2022 and we simply can’t let it happen again to us, the country and our generation.