By Daily Sports Nigeria on July 9, 2024

Italian transfer expert, Pier Francesco Monachino, has made a bold claim that Serie A giants Napoli will not entertain the offer from Chelsea involving an offer of Romelu Lukaku and Cesare Casadei plus cash for Nigeria international Victor Osimhen, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

In their bid to sign the Super Eagles striker, the English Premier League were willing to offer Lukaku and Casadei plus a fee in the region of  €30m cash to Napoli to lure the striker to Stamford Bridge.

Osimhen agreed a new contract with Napoli in December. Still, those terms only run until the summer of 2026, and there is reportedly a release clause of around £113m included in the agreement.

That has not stopped top clubs from showing interest in the Lagos-born striker who has emerged as one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe having been linked with moves to Chelsea, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and Liverpool among others.

Partenopei president Aurelio de Laurentiis has resigned himself to losing Osimhen and having initially insisted that a nine-figure sum must be paid in full should an interested party wish to price Osimhen away from Naples, the Italian giants are willing to lower their asking price for the Nigerian.

According to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, Napoli are prepared to lower their demands for their striker and are open to bids of around €100m (£84.7m).

On Sunday, TeamTalk wrote that the Blues had been encouraged by the new demand and are willing to offer to players plus cash for Osimhen.

“Chelsea are willing to offer Romelu Lukaku and Cesare Casadei to Napoli to help lower the price of Victor Osimhen,” the publication wrote on X.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia via IlNapolista, Monachino claimed that the 2022/2023 Serie A champions won’t sign the Belgian forward without selling the Nigerian.

“The first issue is Osimhen. In recent weeks we have mentioned Lukaku because when we talk about Conte we automatically talk about him.

“The Belgian himself said that Conte is the best coach he has had, but without Osimhen’s departure, Napoli will not go for Lukaku.

“The clause is €130m, however, Napoli will not go below three figures. The player obviously wants to stay in Europe; there was only an inquiry from Saudi Arabia.

“For Lukaku, Chelsea’s request is always over €40m. Milan is also interested in Lukaku.”

Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille in the 2020 summer for a club record fee of €70m plus another €10m in bonuses and has been in sensational form for the Parthenopeans for the past two seasons, guiding them to their first Scudetto title in over three decades.

The Lagos-born striker ended the 2022/23 season with 26 league goals and was named the league’s best striker.

In a poor 2023/24 season for Napoli where they won only 13 games, lost 11 and drew 14, Osimhen still managed to pose a relatively good figure scoring 15 goals and providing three assists from 25 league appearances.

Source Punch Ng

Posted July 9, 2024

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