Victor Osimhen was left out of Napoli's squad for their pre-season friendly against Egnatia as talks over a Paris Saint-Germain transfer stall.
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Osimhen linked with Napoli exitConte leaves him out of friendlyTalks with PSG over transfer stallWHAT HAPPENED?
Osimhen is one of the highest-rated strikers in the world but he is proving difficult to sell as the Napoli star has a £110 million ($142m) release clause. PSG look the most likely to sign the 25-year-old forward but talks are currently at a standstill. However, new manager Antonio Conte did not pick the Nigerian international for the pre-season friendly, throwing fresh doubt on his future.
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According to Fabrizio Romano, Osimhen – whose contract runs until the summer of 2026 – wants to leave Napoli and the Italian team want to recruit Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku, who previously played under former Inter boss Conte. However, with no progress made, Osimhen could be playing at Napoli next season and Lukaku may be desperately searching for a new team, other than the Serie A outfit.
DID YOU KNOW?
The striker began his career at Wolfsburg after being discovered at the Ultimate Strikers Academy in Lagos, Nigeria. From there he moved to Belgian side Charleroi and then to Lille in 2019. After scoring 18 goals in 38 games for the Ligue 1 team, he joined Napoli a year later.
Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?
Napoli's next pre-season game is against Brest on Wednesday and then Girona on Saturday. It remains to be seen if Osimhen will be included in the squad for those matches and if he will be still be at the club for the new season on August 18.