Julius OkorieSuper Eagles forward and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has reached personal agreement with Saudi Pro league side Al Hilal with strong indications that the deal will be sealed any moment from now.
Al Hilal, who recently appointed Simone Inzaghi as new head coach, have reportedly increased their bid from €40 to €70 million in a bid to close the deal.The final sealing of the deal is reportedly being delayed by Napoli’s firm stance on their €75 million asking price.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to Sky Sports Italy, “The striker has, in fact, found an agreement with the Arab club regarding the salary he would receive. However, an agreement between the two clubs is still missing,” the outlet reported. Personal agreement with the Saudi club is seen as
one step closer to finally sealing his permanent exit from Napoli. It is left to be seen whether Al Hilal will add another €5m as days met into hours and hours melt into minutes and seconds respectively.
Al-Hilal are still short of an agreement with Napoli. Journalist Gianluca Di Marzio notes that the Saudi giants’ best offer is €70m (£59m/$80m) and Napoli want €75m (£63m/$86m).
Osimhen’s relationship wth Napoli soured last summer, although he still signed a new contract to 2026. That deal is now about to enter its final year, which limits the fee the new Serie A champions can demand for the Nigerian striker, who scored 37 goals during a loan at Galatasaray this past season.
READ ALSO:Galatasaray Ready To Break The Bank To Retain Victor Osimhen
Negotiations between the clubs over the transfer fee are set to continue. If Al-Hilal are quick, they will be able to use Osimhen at the FIFA Club World Cup, with the mini-transfer window created for the early part of the summer before the tournament closing on June 10.
While interest has come from a string of major clubs, including Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, it appears that it is Al-Hilal who have won or are on the verge of winning the race to sign the striker.
Galatasaray were also interested in signing Osimhen, who enjoyed a superb period on loan in Istanbul, but Turkish media reports that the Super Lig club have been beaten to the player by the “jaw-dropping” offer from the Saudi Pro League.
Galatasaray had pushed hard to sign the 26-year-old striker yet ultimately could not match the financial offer that came from Al-Hilal. This has prompted the Turkish media to delve into the transfer fee and reveal details of a deal that is described as “jaw-dropping”.
Milliyet reports that the total value of the deal before taxes and bonuses stands at €195 million. Ironically Osimhen alone is worth more than all but three clubs in Turkey viz Besiktas, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.
Osimhen’s transfer has become the focus of many football analysts and fans alike. Attempt by the former Lille striker to leave Napoli last year drew a lot of attention with near transfer reports involving top clubs that eventually came to nothing forcing him to proceed on season long loan to Galatasaray.
His exploits while on loan with the Turkish side did not only endear him to the club but also gingered the club and its fans to begin attempts to have him for keeps.
But from current development, it does appear that the Turkish giants will be left with pleasant memories of an Osimhen that came to their club, saw and conquered within a short time helping them to claim Turkish league and Turkish Cup.
Julius Okorie is Chief Sports and Entertainment Correspondent for Prime Business Africa. He began his journalism career with the Champion Newspaper and Sporting Champion and later moved on to Daily Independent and the Nation Newspapers. Okorie joined Prime Business Africa in 2024 bringing on board 20 years of experience in writing investigative news on Sports and Entertainment. His well researched and highly informative articles on Sports Business and general entertainment are followed by a wide range of audience.
