CONFIRMED: Victor Osimhen accepts contract offer ahead of Club World Cup
Victor Osimhen has accepted a contract offer from Al-Hilal, with only an agreement over a transfer fee with Napoli lacking before his long-awaited transfer will be completed.
Over the course of the last 12 months, Nigeria international Osimhen has been linked with a string of major clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea.
While Premier League interest in the striker has strangely not materialised to a concrete offer this summer, Galatasaray, where he spent last season on loan, and the Saudi Pro League emerged as his likely destinations
And it appears that Al-Hilal have won the race for the striker, with Di Marzio reporting that he has accepted an offer from the club. Earlier on Friday, it had been reported that contract talks had broken down, with Osimhen seeking an annual wage of €40 million a year to hook up with the Saudi side.
Whatever issue that there may have been appears to have been resolved, yet there is one final hurdle to overcome before the transfer can be made official.
Al-Hilal still to match Napoli demand
Al-Hilal have yet to reach an agreement with Napoli over the player’s transfer fee.
The Saudi club have so far offered €70 million but the Serie A champions, who were crowned Italy’s best side while Osimhen was away on loan at Galatasaray, are demanding €75m.
Napoli have shown themselves to be hard-nosed operators in the transfer market previously, notably in the case of the 26-year-old last summer as they withstood pressure to sell their prolific hitman.
A year ago, Antonio Conte’s side wanted in excess of €120m to strike a deal and they are unlikely to relent on their cut-price offer this summer.
Al-Hilal, meanwhile, will want to rush a deal for Osimhen through by 10 June to allow him to feature in the FIFA Club World Cup, so things could now move quickly.