Victor Osimhen’s future at Napoli seems more uncertain than ever after President Aurelio De Laurentiis dropped several hints the striker’s ‘mood has changed’ and made comparisons with Kalidou Koulibaly’s sale.
There were reports Friday, that Liverpool had joined the race to sign Osimhen, who will be out of contract in June 2025 and has still not agreed a new deal.
It was also suggested that agent Roberto Calenda was spotted meeting with Napoli directors Maurizio Micheli and Mauro Meluso.
De Laurentiis made comments about the striker that suggest things are not going well after they had seemed so close to an agreement over the summer.
“I have never not been calm when it comes to Osimhen, but it takes two to tango. I remain the same, if his mood has changed, then there’s not much I can do about that. If after a handshake things change, that is disappointing, we take it into account, but life goes on.
“We have a good rapport with him, the contract runs to 2025, so there is time. Don’t forget I sold Koulibaly at the last minute.”
Koulibaly was a Napoli icon, but was sold to Chelsea when down to the final months of his contract.
While Osimhen was irritated by the TikTok videos that the official club website posted a few weeks ago, it is also true that Napoli are frustrated by yet another injury sustained on international duty with Nigeria.
“Since 2013 we have received a total of circa €4m in reimbursement for the participation of our players in international games, despite the fact there were always at least 10 players called up,” explained De Laurentiis.
“This is no good. I think international duty should only be for players of a maximum of 22 years, so it gives them good practice and visibility. I also believe the clubs should be allowed to decide whether to release their players, especially if it is a friendly.
“If I paid €50m for a player and he returns injured, they ought to reimburse the club for the cost of every day he is out of action. Just think about Neymar…”
Al-Hilal forward Neymar is out for the season after a serious knee ligament injury sustained while playing for Brazil last weekend.
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