Liverpool may have been given added hope of landing one of their reported transfer targets following comments from their current club’s president.
In recent days, the Reds have been linked with Victor Osimhen, whose contract talks with Napoli remain unresolved, thus fuelling speculation over his future.
Aurelio de Laurentiis, the outspoken president of the Serie A champions, told reporters that he’s powerless to prevent the Nigerian from leaving the club if that’s his wish.
The 74-year-old said (via 90min): “I have never not been calm when it comes to Osimhen, but it takes two to tango.
“I remain the same; if his mood has changed, then there’s not much I can do about that. If after a handshake things change, that is disappointing, we take it into account, but life goes on.
“We have a good rapport with him, the contract runs to 2025, so there is time. Don’t forget I sold [Kalidou] Koulibaly at the last minute.”
Reports from Italy have hinted that Liverpool have even reached an agreement already with Osimhen and his agent Roberto Calenda, hence the reluctance to pen a new deal at Napoli.
From the player’s uncertainty at his current club, it seems that the Reds have a plausible chance of seizing upon that situation, even if the interest of Chelsea and Arsenal (90min) adds strong competition.
It’d inevitably take a mammoth transfer fee to bring the 24-year-old to Anfield, with reports earlier this year claiming that the Serie A champions value him at £150m (football.london), but strikers of his reliability are bound to come at a sizeable cost.
Osimhen’s 27 caps for Nigeria have yielded 20 goals, while he’s struck 32 times in 38 Serie A matches since the start of last season and 65 in 111 appearances altogether for Napoli (Transfermarkt).
Liverpool already have two superb centre-forwards in Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, so their need for the Azzurri marksman isn’t glaring, but his fantastic track record and contractual uncertainty makes him impossible to ignore.
A glorious opportunity could be there for the taking if the Reds truly push for it.
#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️