Napoli’s Sporting Director, Giovanni Manna, has addressed the club’s decision to drop Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, from Antonio Conte’s senior squad. The 25-year-old was close to joining Chelsea on transfer deadline day, but the deal fell through due to disagreements over salary expectations.
Osimhen, who had been absent from Napoli’s senior training sessions since the beginning of the month, missed pre-season games in an attempt to force a move away from Italy. However, when the transfer didn’t materialize, he had no choice but to stay with Napoli.
Osimhen’s handling of the situation reportedly angered Napoli’s management. In response, the club stripped him of the number 9 jersey, giving it to Romelu Lukaku, and excluded the Nigerian striker from all first-team appearances. Despite this, Napoli’s Sporting Director remains confident in the club’s ability to succeed without the 2023 CAF Player of the Year.
“We’ve made substantial investments; we brought in Lukaku and retained Raspadori and Simeone, which wasn’t guaranteed. We are maintaining our consistent strategy. Victor expressed his wish not to play for Napoli, so we’ve made other decisions. The market is still open, but I don’t see Victor moving to Saudi Arabia this window,” Manna said, according to quotes from Napoli Zone.
Napoli has only secured one win under Antonio Conte this season.
