'Who wouldn't want Osimhen?' - SPL chief Emenalo admits he thought Chelsea would sign Nigeria star

Retired Nigeria international and director of football of the Saudi Pro League (SPL), Michael Emenalo has admitted that he was surprised Chelsea could not get a deal for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen over the line in the summer transfer window.

In arguably the top transfer soap opera of the summer, Osimhen's proposed moves to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli and Premier League giants Chelsea collapsed on deadline day in the top five European leagues. 

Chelsea were ready to use Belgian forward Romelu Lukaku as a makeweight in their efforts to sign Osimhen but no agreement was reached. 

Osimhen had an incredible offer from Al-Ahli, apparently worth £650,000 per week, and Chelsea's final offer in the hours leading up to the close of the transfer window was nowhere near that.

Despite agreeing personal terms with Al-Ahli, Napoli frustrated his move to the Saudi Pro League by making outrageous demands. 

Chelsea and other European clubs found it very difficult to come to a resolution with Napoli and Osimhen because the wages were a massive stumbling block, let alone the transfer fee in the region of 130 million euros. 

Citing financial reasons, Osimhen rejected Chelsea's offer, claiming that 43 percent of his salary would be taxed by the British government, 20 percent would go to the NHS, and £20,000 would be deducted for image rights.

When asked to reveal how close he was to signing Victor Osimhen in the summer, Emenalo said on The Obi One Podcast: "Maybe in some club's mind they thought they were close. What being close is different for me than it is for the clubs. 

"For me, it's closed when the paperwork come through my desk and requires my evaluation and signature. Until that happens then it is not closed and that didn't happen. I didn't see any paperwork.

"But there was obviously clear mammoth interest. Who wouldn't want Victor Osimhen? All things being equal, you're building a team, I thought my former club will get him because he is terrific."

Emenalo has suggested that both Chelsea and Al-Ahli missed out on the reigning African Footballer of the Year because negotiations started late. 

"Maybe people acted late, there are initial negotiations and conversations that need to take place and the bigger the player is, the longer and more complicated these conversations are.

"The selling club wants to do really well with the deal, the buying club wants to buy within budget, in between negotiations and lawyers, agents.

"My point isn't that maybe those conversations were taking place, I wasn't part of it, but it never came to the stage where they say Michael you need to sign off on this."

Turkish champions Galatasaray managed to convince Osimhen to join the club on a season-long loan after the close of the transfer window in the major European leagues.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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