Victor Osimhen was rumored to be moving to Chelsea or Paris Saint-Germain this summer. However, he stayed with Napoli past the summer transfer deadline in England and France, as neither club was willing to meet the asking price.
The Parisian side was linked with Osimhen until the last week of the transfer window, while Chelsea made a late push for the striker. Despite their efforts, no deal materialized.
In the end, Osimhen joined Galatasaray S.K. on loan, without a buy option included in the deal. Nonetheless, one former Chelsea player revealed that the player is disappointed with how the situation played out.
“He was disappointed that it didn’t happen,” John Obi Mikel admitted on The Obi One Podcast (h/t Le10Sport). “I spoke to him when the transfer window closed, I called him, and we spent 20 minutes talking.
“I told him, ‘Listen, I’m still here for you, you need to keep your head down, you need to keep working hard, keep training. I know it’s not the best situation right now, but I know you’re strong.’”
A permanent departure from Napoli could be easier in the summer of 2025 as transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently reported that Osimhen will return to Napoli next summer, and the club has secured an option to extend his contract until 2027.
If Napoli exercises the contract extension starting in 2025, the release clause will drop to €75 million, which is a sum to attract more suitors and could be the case.