Napoli striker Victor Osimhen
Napoli centre-forward Victor Osimhen has conducted a bombshell interview about his future, revealing his admiration for the Premier League and stating that he had the shirts of Manchester United and Chelsea growing up.
Osimhen’s future at Napoli is unclear, which has gotten Premier League teams excited about a potential transfer to England. The striker’s current contract with Napoli expires in summer 2025, and the Italian club have been working hard to try and organise an extension.
The two parties even reached an agreement in principle at one point, though Osimhen is yet to be tied down to fresh terms. Napoli chiefs have not been helped by the club’s social media team posting two videos which appeared to mock the Nigerian in September.
Given Osimhen’s incredible form – he has netted 37 goals in 49 games for Napoli over the last two seasons – it comes as no surprise that the Premier League’s most illustrious clubs are queuing up to make him their new No 9.
Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea have all been linked with the player. When Fabrizio Romano ruled Liverpool out of the mix on October 23, this saw the transfer race fall down to Man Utd, Arsenal and Chelsea.
On Monday, TEAMtalk exclusively revealed that Osimhen is open to speaking with Chelsea officials about a possible move to Stamford Bridge. That came after Chelsea began to turn their attention away from Ivan Toney and towards the deadly Serie A star.
READ MORE: Fabrizio Romano confirms London meeting between Man Utd and Euro giants, with huge transfer to make Ten Hag grin
Osimhen has now appeared on John Obi Mikel’s Obi One podcast. Mikel asked the 24-year-old about which clubs he liked growing up, and he went on to give Man Utd and Chelsea a huge boost to their transfer hopes.
“I don’t have a boyhood Premier League team but I have two jerseys from my brother because I played grassroots football,” he revealed.
Victor Osimhen had two Premier League shirts growing up
“I had one with Chelsea and one with Manchester United – the one with Vodafone on it.
“A lot of my friends were Chelsea fans and a few Manchester United, but in Nigeria everyone watches Premier League.”
Mikel, who made 372 appearances for Chelsea between 2006 and 2017, then tried to convince Osimhen on a switch to West London.
“Next season, I know you’re going to come to Chelsea,” the former midfielder declared. “I’m telling you, I’m going to be the agent to broker that deal. I’m going to make sure that happens. We are crying out for someone like you… since Didier Drogba left the club.”
On Drogba, Osimhen added: “I am still learning and watching a lot of Drogba’s highlights as well as some other amazing strikers.
“Last season he texted me on Instagram. When it is someone you like and idolise so much, and when you see Didier Drogba with the verified page – at first I went on to his page to see if it was the real one.
Napoli star a huge fan of Didier Drogba
“I took a screenshot of it a few times and then replied. The message was really inspiring and encouraging to me.
“That he is watching and rooting for me, I got motivation. Then getting your idol texting you motivation, that is a huge one for me also. It is like double motivation.”
Osimhen had the opportunity to leave Europe in the summer when Saudi club Al Hilal offered Napoli a stunning £120m for him.
But Osimhen had no intention of heading to the Middle East at this stage of his career. “The more I said no to them, the more they increased it,” he said.
“That week was a huge decision for me to make but I put everything in God’s hands.
“It was literally like ‘wow, this is surreal’. I spoke with the people in charge and spoke about it with the club.”
Meanwhile, Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag will not allow one player to leave in January even though he is struggling at Old Trafford, according to a report.
