Page 44 - Soccer360 Issue 104

THE VALUE
EITHER WHEN HE’S SCORING GOALS OR BEING LINKED WITH
A MOVE AWAY FROM NAPOLI, VICTOR OSIMHEN NEVER SEEMS TO BE OUT
OF THE SPOTLIGHT. STEPHEN KASIEWICZ EXPLORES HOW THINGS HAVE PLAYED OUT FOR THE NIGERIAN AND HIS POSSIBLE NEXT STEPS.
he future of Napoli striker Victor
OF VICTORT
Now
undoubtedly one
of the world’s top speculation for the best part of the strikers, Victor
Osimhen’s future
is the subject
of constant
speculation.
Serie A title, the conjecture surrounding one of world football’s most outstanding and explosive goalscorers intensified to hysterical levels, with a daily stream of baseless stories associating the Nigerian international to almost every leading English Premier League club.
According to the relentless rumour cycle, the dynamic attacker seemingly has his bags packed
in readiness to board a private jet to England at
any moment with Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United all continually mentioned as possible destinations for the 24-year-old.
Yet beneath the sensational headlines and eye- popping transfer figures the likelihood of Osimhen leaving in January seems slim. Anything is possible in the ever-fluctuating world of calcio but it
would take something extraordinary for Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis to part with his most prized asset before the season ends.
It appeared as if the leading scorer in Serie A in 2022-23 had agreed a contract extension in August, however talks broke down before the campaign began as De Laurentiis rejected a colossal $154m bid from Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal for the man who struck 26 times in 32 league matches as Napoli raced clear of their rivals to clinch the Scudetto by a handsome margin.
The film producer turned club owner can always be relied upon for a colourful quote and quipped that €200m would be enough for one of Osimhen’s feet and €500m would be sufficient to allow his star man to leave for Saudi Arabia. Even allowing for exaggerated remarks such as these, the reality is that only a handful of clubs have the financial might to make Napoli even consider allowing him to leave. Despite contract discussions between club and player dragging on, nothing was agreed before
Osimhen has been the topic of endless
42 SOCCER360
“OSIMHEN DECIDED AGAINST A MOVE TO SAUDI ARABIA IN THE SUMMER.”
last two years, and it’s not about to stop. Throughout last season as he led the Partenopei to a milestone third
Lazio’s Ciro Immobile celebrates scoring the 0-1 goal during the Italian Serie A soccer match US Salernitana vs SS Lazio
DID YOU KNOW ?
Milan’s players jubilate after winning the UEFA Champions League group F soccer match
between Ac Milan and Paris Saint-German
20 GOALS IN TWO
As of November 27, Boulaye Dia has scored 20 goals in the last two Serie A seasons: only Victor Osimhen (32) and Lautaro Martínez (33) have done better in this period. It is also more than double of any of his teammates (Antonio Candreva with nine).
TWO HUNDRED!
Ciro Immobile is only the 5th player to score 200+ goals with a single team in the Big-5 European leagues in all competitions since 2016/17 (his first season for Lazio), after Lewandowski (277), Mbappé (224), Messi (219) and Kane (216).
FIRST IN A WHILE
AC Milan’s Champion’s League victory against PSG was the
first time they have won a UEFA Champions League match after being trailing for the first time since 21 October 2009, in the group stage against Real Madrid.
A STREAK THANKS TO VIKTOR
Thanks to Viktor Kovalenko, Empoli have scored the first goal of a match at the 90th minute of play for the fourth time in their history in Serie A
in their 1-0 win against Napoli, their first since 30th April 2006 (Materazzi’s own goal against Inter).
E N G L I S HS E P R R I E E MA I PE R R O L F E I LA EG U E