After spearheading Napoli to their historic title triumph in 2023, Victor Osimhen seemingly had the world at his fingertips.
Talk of Osimhen’s future has been a dominant story across the last two summer transfer windows. A proven goal-scorer with power, pace and aerial prowess, the Nigerian has been one of the hottest available talents on the market over the past 18 months, Kylian Mbappe aside.
Rewind to the summer of 2023 and it looked for all the world that Napoli’s Osimhen would leave the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium after his superb 31-goal campaign, which marked the club’s first title success since 1990. Despite interest from a wealth of elite European clubs, nothing materialised.
After realising his short-term future was committed to Napoli, the 25-year-old striker went on to score 15 goals in 25 appearances the following season, placing himself in world football’s shop window for the second summer running.
Osimhen would be forgiven for thinking that, given the perpetual shortcomings of Chelsea and Manchester United, he would finally be packing his bags for the Premier League this summer.
Victor Osimhen completed the shock move of the summer after joining Galatasaray on loan
Osimhen has been one of the hottest talents available in the transfer market over the past two summers – and his move to the Turkish giants from Napoli seems somewhat anticlimactic
Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea were keen to sign the striker but could not finalise a summer deal
And yet, in a last-gasp decision to escape Napoli on deadline day, Osimhen joined Galatasaray on loan in a stunning one-year move that raised several eyebrows.
Take one look at the household names within Galatasaray’s squad — from Mauro Icardi to Hakim Ziyech to Dries Mertens — and they all share one common trait. Former superstars who have entered their thirties and, respectfully, have played past their prime.
It begs the question, why has a striker of such pedigree opted to move there at 25, during the height of his career?
Less than a year and a half ago, the well-mannered Nigerian sat down with Mail Sport to open up on his ambition to play in the Premier League and go toe-to-toe with Manchester City talisman Erling Haaland for the Golden Boot.
‘I can score four goals in a game, I can provide more assists, I can do many more things as I have the quality to execute them. I need to work even harder and then at the end of my career I can hopefully look back and say yes, I did some wonderful things,’ he explained during his first interview with a major UK media outlet.
Osimhen also revealed his long-standing admiration for Chelsea legend and fellow African Didier Drogba, admitting that he used to idiolise the striker and was starstruck when the Ivorian sent him a congratulatory message after the Under-17 World Cup in 2015.
The Nigerian star was mobbed by fans after touching down in Istanbul to complete the move
Osimhen was dramatically banished from Antonio Conte’s first team squad ahead of the loan
The 25-year-old forward has made no secret of his desire to play in the Premier League one day
His love for Drogba — partnered with Chelsea’s fiercely aggressive transfer approach under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital — led fans to believe that a move to Stamford Bridge was a foregone conclusion, especially after Blues outcast Romelu Lukaku joined Napoli in a £38m transfer.
Chelsea pushed hard to secure Osimhen’s signature before the window closed, despite already luring a dozen new players to Stamford Bridge including Jadon Sancho, Joao Felix and Pedro Neto, but fell short before last Friday’s deadline.
The collapse was reportedly triggered by a failure to agree personal terms, with Chelsea ultimately unwilling to match the Nigerian superstar’s wage demands.
Once fans learned that Osimhen’s deadline day move to Chelsea was off the table, all eyes turned to Saudi Arabian outfit Al-Ahli, who had a £67m bid for the Napoli hitman accepted and were more than capable of agreeing to his desired contract.
Snubbing a move to the Middle East, Osimhen rejected their advances and prompted Al-Ahli to sign only Brentford striker Ivan Toney, who is said to be earning north of £400,000 per week.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly (above) has spent over £200m on new players this summer
The Nigerian superstar’s stunning form back in 2022-23 powered Napoli to the Serie A title
Brentford’s Ivan Toney arrives in Jeddah to finalise his £400,000-a-week move to Al-Ahli
Perhaps the appeal of Galatasaray, who have signed Osimhen without an obligation to buy and are reportedly footing the forward’s entire £240,000-a-week wage bill during his time in Turkey, is that they have offered the Napoli wantaway a brief escape without any long-term commitment.
After expressing his desire to leave, Osimhen was dramatically exiled from Antonio Conte’s first-team squad and risked sitting on the bench for most of the season, lessening his draw in future transfer windows.
The star forward will still be aged just 26 next summer and can feasibly orchestrate a lucrative move to one of Europe’s elite teams. Sticking around in Paris for an extra year certainly did Mbappe no harm ahead of his not-so-secret move to Real Madrid.
Swapping the hostile and awkward environment he found himself in at Napoli to the hero’s welcome Galatasaray fans gave him upon touching down in Istanbul, Osimhen will have viewed the deadline day move as a simple decision.
Beaming with excitement after flying in during the early hours on Tuesday morning, Osimhen got acquainted with the Galatasaray mob by leading chants and waving to delighted supporters.
Romelu Lukaku scored his first goal for Napoli against Parma after a £38m move from Chelsea
Osimhen could still orchestrate a lucrative move to one of Europe’s elite teams next summer
And yet, despite jubilantly ingratiating himself with Galatasaray supporters, the Nigerian could be out of Istanbul as early as January, thanks to a bizarre clause reportedly attached to his new contract.
According to reports in Turkey, Osimhen has asked for a break clause in his contract to allow him a transfer to one of 10 specific clubs, which have not been named. It is also claimed that his Napoli release clause has been slashed from £109m to £63m, in a bid to engineer a permanent move away from the Serie A club.
Moving to Galatasaray may not have been part of Osimhen’s initial career plan, but it could well prove a vital step towards his long-term Premier League dream.
