Transfer rumours revolve around Victor Osimhen who currently leads the Serie A scoring chart netting 22 goals in 27 games for Napoli. While Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan’s move to Barcelona might just be in the final stages, as we take a look at transfer gossip before the end of the season.
Barcelona are confident of finalising a deal to sign Manchester City and Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan who is 32 years old, according to 90min transfer news.
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Former Gabon captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 33, will leave Chelsea and the player now wants to return to Barcelona according to Fabrizio Romano. Aubameyang has had a bad season with the Blues Chelsea after falling out of favour with different managers.
Read Also: De Gea’s future after West Ham mistake, Arsenal title trail
Meanwhile, Aston Villa are preparing a move to sign Serbia forward Dusan Vlahovic, 23, from Juventus according to Football Insider.
Tottenham have asked Barcelona to name their price for Ivory Coast midfielder Franck Kessie, 26. (Sport – in Spanish)
Liverpool has not made contact with Brighton over a move for 24-year-old Argentina midfielder Alexis Mac Allister. (Athletic)
Victor Osimhen: Is the determined Napoli striker a Ksh 17.2 billion (£100m)player?
Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis says the Serie A champions will not sell 24-year-old Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, who has been linked with some of Europe’s top clubs, this summer this is according to Cinque Minuti, via Mail.
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It is hard to involve in a conversation that any player has contributed more to capturing that elusive crown for Napoli than Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen as supporters revel in the first Italian title triumph in 33 years.
Back in 1990, Gli Azzurri’s top scorer was a certain Diego Maradona who managed 16 goals in 28 Serie A appearances, putting him third on the list for the league that season.
Jay Jay Okocha, who spent five seasons in the English top flight with Bolton Wanderers and Hull City, agrees this should be his compatriot’s ultimate ambition.
“It’s a league that improves players, you just have to find the right club that suits your game,” the Super Eagles legend told BBC Sport Africa.
“A team like Man City, but they’ve got (Erling) Haaland now. I think Man United as well might be ideal for him now because they’ve been struggling without a quality striker in recent years. Arsenal as well.”
Nevertheless, Osimhen now plays his football in a stadium named after Maradona, netting 22 goals in 27 games, including the vital strike that clinched the title in a 1-1 draw with Udinese.
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He currently leads the Serie A scoring chart, three ahead of his nearest rival, Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan.
With the ‘Goals win games’ phrase in football no doubt Osimhen’s goals have caught the attention. Having joined Napoli in July 2020 for a fee of around €81m, a record for an African player, daily transfer rumours now link him with all of Europe’s biggest clubs for even bigger fees the biggest question being is the 24-year-old really worth £100m?
“Osimhen has really grown to be this leader that they need on the pitch,” Italian football journalist Mina Razouki told BBC Radio 5 live. “He doesn’t give up. His performances have been ridiculous. Right now, the team are dependent on him.
“On a technical level, he’s always been brilliant. And we’re starting to see the consistency that he provides right now. Certainly, he’s got to be one of the top five strikers in the world.”
If proof was needed of Osimhen’s consistency this season, he bagged his nineteenth league goal in a 2-0 win at Empoli in February, making him the second-youngest player (24 years, 58 days) after Cagliari’s Roberto Muzzi (23 years, 165 days) to score in eight consecutive games.
Read Also: Napoli wins Serie A for the first time since the Diego Maradona era
He also scored his one-hundredth career goal, reaching the landmark faster than either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo – a fact that more than impressed Jose Peseiro, his international coach with Nigeria.
“Victor is a player who has an extraordinary goalscoring instinct,” the Portuguese told BBC Sport Africa.
“He is an intelligent, fast, aggressive player with an extraordinary feeling for being in the right spot. He will score many more goals and will make history even more times.”
Despite his incredible stats, Razouki says the Lagos-born star stays true to his humble origins in a poor part of the city.
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“Every time we do an interview with him, he highlights how grateful he is that he is a footballer. He says just the opportunity to be able to live out his dream is all he needs.
“He decided to forego any luxury apartment in Napoli and lives right by the training centre, just so he could go and play football all the time.”
