'Has a contract for another 2 years' - Napoli president reiterates Osimhen is staying amid links to Al Hilal

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has reiterated that Victor Osimhen will remain at The Parthenopeans when the transfer window closes for business amid speculation linking him with a departure from the club. 

English Premier League duo Manchester United and Chelsea, plus Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain were interested in signing Osimhen this summer but it appears they were priced out of a move considering that they turned their attention to other targets. 

United brought in Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta, Chelsea signed Villarreal's Nicolas Jackson, PSG got Gonçalo Ramos from Benfica and Bayern Munich have reached a club-to-club agreement with Tottenham Hotspur for England striker Harry Kane. 

Previously, De Laurentiis had claimed that it would take a bid of 200 million euros to persuade him to part with the Super Eagles striker.

Having failed to sign Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe and 2022 World Cup winner Lionel Messi, Al Hilal made an enormous bid for Osimhen but the striker is unlikely to move to Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career even if his price tag is met. 

Osimhen still has a contract with Napoli that runs out at the end of the 2024-2025 season and has been offered an extension but nothing has been agreed yet. 

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, via Tuttomercatoweb, De Laurentiis said: "Osimhen is staying, he has a contract for another two years and so where should he go?

"The contracts are to be respected by both the parties being a bilateral relationship. With Osimhen there was bilaterality from the first moment and we get along very well. Stay calm and calm."

Osimhen has resumed full training with Napoli after suffering an injury scare two days ago and should be available for Napoli's pre-season friendly against Apollon Limassol on Friday evening. 

Igho Kingsley 

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