“Ignoring Chelsea?” – Antonio Conte sends clear message to Victor Osimhen after failed Chelsea move
Victor Osimhen was told by Antonio Conte that he will not be allowed to return to the Napoli first team after his summer transfer to Chelsea fell through.
Before the summer transfer market closed on Friday night, Chelsea made a strong effort to sign Osimhen, but a Stamford Bridge delegation left Naples unsatisfied.
When Osimhen was offered a salary to join Al Ahli, a Saudi club, the Blues refused to match it.
Chelsea did make a contract offer to the Nigerian but he rejected the proposal before reportedly ending talks with the frustrated Premier League club.
The failed transfer means Osimhen remains a Napoli player, for the time being at least, but Conte has not changed his stance and does not intend to pick him going forward.
Osimhen was left out of Napoli’s dramatic Serie A win over Parma on Saturday and his No. 9 shirt was handed to new signing Romelu Lukaku, who scored in the victory just a few days following his move from Stamford Bridge.
Conte was asked to assess Napoli’s activity in the summer window after the game, with Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour also joining his squad from the Premier League.
‘Strong players have arrived from a market that was difficult and at times blocked,’said Conte, who previously worked for English clubs Chelsea and Tottenham.
‘They came to fill the slots, and I’m happy with the work done by the club.’
Conte then took a swipe at Osimhen by saying: ‘Of course, if Osimhen had been sold, we would have completed the situation better.’
‘Chelsea is a big club and I know they really need a proven striker I don’t want him here so why not signing for Chelsea?
The manager’s quotes come as Napoli inform Osimhen that he will not be welcomed back into Conte’s squad.
That will likely force Osimhen to consider a move to Saudi Arabia, something he had reservations over earlier in the summer.
But it remains to be seen whether Al Ahli will still be interested in signing Osimhen after they completed a deal for England striker Ivan Toney on deadline day.
Conte, meanwhile, praised his Napoli players after they scored two injury-time goals to complete an impressive comeback against Parma.
‘It was a performance of heart against an excellent team with good players who press well,’ he said.
‘We could have done much better. We’ll take these three points knowing there’s work to be done.’