Osimhen, Napoli studies the alternatives and reflects

Thirty-three is not the old way of listening to the doctor’s back (say 33), but the magic number of Victor Osimhen who, with the brace scored on Sunday in Sierra Leone, closed his best season with 33 goals (31 for Napoli, 2 for Nigeria) essential to the blue club to bring the Scudetto back to the city, after 33 years to be precise. But beyond the cabal, the Neapolitan fans are interested in knowing if Victor will stay with the Italian champions and at the moment it is an answer that not even the person concerned knows. Several big names are interested – from PSG to Bayern Munich, from Manchester United to Chelsea – but De Laurentiis’ request for 150 million at the moment means that potential buyers are waiting for the right moment for an offer. It will take at least a month to understand the solution and in the meantime the president should meet the agent Roberto Calenda to lay the foundations for an extension of at least one year of the contract. But the footballer wants to earn more than the current 4.5 million – given the interest on the market – figures which however are out of line with the sustainability rules set by Napoli. We’ll see how he evolves. Meanwhile, the qualification in the African Cup means that Osimhen will miss his club at least the whole month of January and part of February, if Nigeria will qualify for the knockout rounds.

David, alternate favorite

—

Among the alternatives that Napoli has been studying for some time with Maurizio Micheli, scouting chief, is the Canadian Jonathan David, born in 2000, who replaced Osimhen at Lille three years ago, leading the team to win the French title in 2021: in this season 24 goals in 37 Ligue one games, third scorer behind Mbappé and Lacazette. A centre-forward who also seems fitting for Rudi Garcia’s idea of ​​the game.

Alternative profiles

—

There is no shortage and they focus on two types of profiles. One concerns the Dane born in 2003 from Atalanta, Rasmus Hojlund: 9 goals in his first Serie A championship made him a very interesting profile also followed in the Premier by Manchester United. Another interesting profile is the Portuguese from Udinese, born in 1998, Beto: in black and white he scored 10 goals in the last championship and physically knows how to impose himself with the Italian defenders. We will also see what Garcia’s suggestions to De Laurentiis will be.