'Took me four months’'- Ex-Napoli chief admits bringing Osimhen to Italy was his hardest transfer

In an interview with Corriere della Sera, former sporting director of Napoli, Cristiano Giuntoli confessed that signing Victor Osimhen for Napoli was his most difficult transfer deal.

Napoli pulled off a massive transfer coup by luring the 2015 Fifa U17 World Cup Golden Boot winner to the Diego Maradona Stadium, seeing off competition from several Premier League teams including Tottenham Hotspur. 

Osimhen was courted by several clubs following his outstanding performances for Lille, registering 18 goals in 38 appearances for Lille before Covid-19 brought French football to an early stop during the 2019-2020 season.

If performance-related bonuses are not included, Osimhen transferred to Napoli in 2020 for a fee in the region of 70 million euros, making him the most expensive Nigerian player in history.

He justified the huge transfer fee by scoring 26 goals in 32 games as Napoli ended their 33-year wait for a Serie A title in May 2023.

When asked to reveal his most complicated purchase, Cristiano Giuntoli was quoted as saying by Tutto Napoli: "Maybe Victor (Osimhen). It took me four months to bring him to Naples".

Osimhen dominated the back pages at home and abroad following a transfer saga involving his collapsed deadline day moves to Chelsea and Al-Ahli.

The 25-year-old later joined Galatasaray on loan for the remainder of the 2024-2025 season after the close of the transfer window in the major European leagues. 

Giuntoli is of the opinion that Napoli should have acted sooner and not delayed Osimhen’s sale until the summer of 2024.

"Perhaps he should have been sold earlier, but Aureliois an intelligent and astute entrepreneur. I owe him a lot, I love him,” he added. 

Napoli placed a price tag of 130 million euros on Osimhen in the summer window, and it meant several interested clubs, including Al-Ahli and Chelsea, were priced out of a deal. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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