Nigeria and Napoli striker Victor Osimhen is on the radar of some of Europe’s biggest clubs with Bayern Munich reportedly ready to dole out over €100 million for the Nigerian striker who has caught the attention of Real Madrid with his early season form.
Osimhen managed just 10 goals in his debut season with Napoli, no thanks to a spate of injuries and a bout of Covid-19 that led many to think that the Italian side may have goofed in spending a club record €81.3 million to lure the Nigerian from Lille to Naples.
Now in his second year with the Blues, the 22-year-old has now scored nine times in just 11 appearances for Napoli, with his latest arriving in last Thursday’s 3-0 demolition of Legia Warsaw in the Europa League.
And, according to Spanish newspaper, AS, Osimhen has been in the crosshairs of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, with the German side ready to dole out over €100m to land the Nigerian international at the end of the season, possibly as a replacement for the ageing Robert Lewandowski, who is also on the radar of Real Madrid.
AS also reported that although Osimhen isn’t Real Madrid’s top transfer target, he could end up on the top of the list if the Spanish side fails in its bid to land its top-three targets – Kylian Mbappé, Erling Håland and Lewandowski.
The newspaper had earlier reported that the 33-year-old Lewandowski, whose contract expires in 2023, could request a transfer from Bayern Munich next summer as he seeks a new challenge away from the Bundesliga, where he has dominated for 12 seasons – first in the colours of Borussia Dortmund and now for Bayern.
With Bayern not likely to see the Polish striker run down his contract, they will be forced to listen to offers for him. It is for this reason that the Bavarians have lined up Osimhen as a replacement for Lewandowski and are willing to offer Napoli over €100m to land the Nigerian who had previously played in the Bundesliga for Wolfsburg.
Mbappé continues to be the priority for Real Madrid though, even if in recent days the news has leaked that Barcelona have also signified an interest in the French striker. It is for this reason, according to AS, that Los Blancos continue to closely monitor Osimhen.
Scouts from these clubs were at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Sunday where Osimhen and Napoli were prevented from setting a record for the best start to a Serie A season as Roma held them to a goalless draw, thus preventing the Blues from wining a ninth straight opening league game.
It was the first time the Naples-based club had failed to score in the league this season after a 100 per cent winning record in their previous eight matches.
And AS Roma manager Jose Mourinho, in his post-match comments, credited his players for stopping the in-form Osimhen.
“The game had a lot of transitions in it – they tried to play really directly through Osimhen and then bring others into play around him,” Mourinho told Roma’s official portal.
“[On Sunday] I liked the organisation, and the way we controlled, in a certain sense, because controlling him is far from easy – Osimhen’s attempts to get into space.”
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