Here are key details to know about the biggest transfer saga in the history of African football involving Victor Osimhen, Napoli, Galatasaray and Chelsea.
With lessons to be learnt, friendships to be formed and relationship ties to be severed it is safe to say that the 2024 summer transfer saga which involved one of Africa's biggest football exports, Victor Osimhen will serve as a learning curve for other top talents to come out of Africa and take over the football landscape in Europe.
How did we get here? Is this a good move? Can he move in January? and many other questions dominated social media trends when it was revealed on Monday, September 2, 2024, that Victor Osimhen had opted for a loan move to the Turkish League side Galatasaray.
At 10:34 pm WAT, the official here we go was confirmed and it became obvious that Victor Osimhen was on his way to becoming an active player in the Turkish League with Galatasaray once again before the January 2025 transfer window following initial speculations of him missing out of football for the rest of the year 2024.
How did Galatasaray enter the race to sign Victor Osimhen?
With the Premier League summer 2024 transfer window closed on the final day of August and with no move in sight for Victor Osimhen reports of him going without playing football for the rest of the year 2024 was the order of the day with many questioning the logic behind his decision to reject a possible move to Chelsea.
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On Saturday, August 31, 2024, popular radio OAP, Buchi Laba Laba, teased an announcement about a club showing interest in signing Victor Osimhen on a proposed loan deal with better wage structure and the option to complete a permanent transfer to a top club in Europe in January 2025 if offers are tendered.
His post on social media read, "Victor Osimhen might be on the Move. - Loan for 4months(Might be a full season). - They play in the Europa League. - Personal terms agreed. - They’re currently in Negotiations with Napoli. Napoli welcome talks. - Everything goes well and this deal happens IN 3 DAYS!"
With limited transfer windows such as the Turkish and Saudi Pro-League still open, it became easy to narrow down his options before the January 2025 transfer window.
The official confirmation of the club interested to be Galatasaray was revealed on Monday, September 2, 2024, with reports revealing a proposed move with a salary structure estimated to be around 9 to 10 million euros for the loan period expected to run till the end of the season.
Victor had also negotiated clauses which would see him move in January 2025 in the presence of an offer from a top club in Europe with his release clause lowered to 75 million euros.
As initially speculated his contract extension in December 2023, became an Achilles heel because of the release clause stipulated to be at 130 million euros.
It was revealed that Napoli for the most of the summer had pushed to get at least 100 million euros turning down possible transfers with a lesser amount.
How much did Chelsea offer Victor Osimhen?
According to sources close to Victor Osimhen Chelsea made an offer that would see the Nigerian international earn less than 100,000 pounds after taxes. Here is the rumoured salary structure presented by Chelsea
- The first offer was €130,000 per week.
- The second offer increased to €140,000 per week.
- The final offer, made on the deadline day, was €155,000 per week.
However, after taxes, this amounts to an actual earning of €85,000 per week.
Clubs that tried to sign Victor Osimhen 2024
In a bid to dispel initial speculations which stated that no clubs had initially shown interest in signing Victor Osimhen, it is important to recollect that top clubs had initially approached Napoli in a bid to sign the Nigerian international. It was revealed that top sides such as Arsenal, PSG, Liverpool and the Saudi Pro-League Al Ahli had all shown interest in securing the top striker.
Napoli had been adamant on receiving an offer of 100 million euros for the better part of the Summer transfer window thereby hindering bids from clubs who had to abide by spending limits to avoid Financial Fair Play complications.
READ ALSO: No move for Victor Osimhen, What's next? | Notjustok
What's next?
Victor Osimhen who is known to give his all on the pitch will play for Galatasaray with a purpose and that is to prove the doubters and naysayers wrong. The goal-scoring machine will live up to his name as one of the most prolific goalscorers on the continent and take the Turkish League as well as the UEFA Europa League by storm.
With a new contract in place and a lowered release clause, we do not see the Nigerian international staying in the Turkish league beyond the January 2025 transfer window as he is a top talent that would still attract the attention of top clubs with a better release clause.
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