By Duro Ikhazuagbe with agency report
Finally, after weeks of going back and forth on the deal, Nigeria and Lille forward, Victor Osimhen, 21, has moved a big step to completing a record-breaking transfer to Italian Serie A side Napoli after passing his medical at the Naples based club at the weekend.
Napoli that paraded Argentine super star, Diego Maradona in the 1990s, are now set to make a formal announcement of the transfer of the 2015 Under-17 World Cup winner with the Golden Eaglets in Chile as the prized jewel they snatched from the French side in a reported deal said to be around 80 million Euros.
Osimhen is to sign a five-year contract, which will pay him at least four million Euros a year after tax.
Germany-based Nigerian journalist, Oma Akatugba, who has been on top of this unfolding transfer saga and enjoys close ties with the Lille star, announced via Twitter yesterday that Osimhen has passed a medical.
“Medicals done @victorosimhen9 is in top health. Everyone in Naples are happy. The club president is smiling from ear to ear. The announcement will happen soon. Stay here. Only,” Akatugba announced on his verified Twitter handle on Sunday afternoon.
As at press time, there was no formal statement on the deal from Napoli.
Meanwhile, Juventus and Inter Milan were interested in signing Osimhen some years ago, according to one of the representatives of Odion Ighalo.
Patrick Bastinelli who brokered Ighalo’s transfer to Udinese at a time, said both Juventus and Inter liked his presentation of Osimhen, but the snag was that he was then a minor.
“Juve and Inter deserve credit for their scouting networks,” Bastinelli told Italian top media, La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.
“I spoke to both Fabio Paratici and Piero Ausilio about Osimhen years ago and they both immediately appreciated the quality that would then flourish over time.
“However, at the time Osimhen was only 17 years old and did not have an EU passport, so he could not be registered by a Serie A club. Therefore, due to red tape issues, the deal never went through,” revealed the top agent to the Italian newspaper.
