Manchester United and newly-affluent Newcastle are the strongest of the suggested destinations for Osimhen which looks good but there may be a better alternative.
A big summer move is certainly the shiny option especially if it is to a Premier League team but perhaps staying back at Napoli could work best for Osimhen’s career.
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Something to prove
Victor Osimhen was signed by Napoli in 2020 for a whopping €75 million which made him the most expensive African footballer ever, a record which still stands.
And while Osimhen has performed well enough to attract interest in those two years at Naples, he is still a fair way from justifying that huge transfer fee.
The Nigerian striker has only managed 27 points in 60 games in his Napoli career so far which is decent at best. Although he has had to battle injuries and even covid at some point in the last two years, the general feeling is there is more to come.
Leaving Napoli now with the jury still out on his first big move will only rubber-stamp the notion that he was a flop at the club, regardless of what he goes on to achieve at his future destinations.
It’s Osimhen’s Napoli now
Napoli are most likely going to finish third this season which means they are on course to play Champions League football next season after two consecutive years in the Europa League.
This means Osimhen will get his first chance on the grandest stage since joining Napoli which could be his chance to shine and then really become an elite player.
Add to that the fact that Lorenzo Insigne will leave the club at the end of the season and 35-year old Dries Mertens in the last few weeks of his contract, this will be Osimhen’s team next season.
If Osimhen stays in Naples, the 23-year old centre forward will be their undisputed first attacking option and will most likely ascend into penalty-taking duties.
Osimhen has performed fairly well in his first two years at the club and has done so under reasonably rocky conditions.
Imagine how much better he would play in a team optimised for him, where he is the undisputed leader and best player, that is why they paid that much for him in the first place.
We would not have to imagine if Osimhen ignores the noise and focuses on executing next season as a Napoli player at his best.