We are considering Victor Osimhen signing in January

Serie A giants Napoli have confirmed they might consider offers from abroad from European giants target Victor Osimhen this summer.

MEN Sport understands Osimhen was on the list of centre forwards Erik ten Hag had his eye on in the summer.

However, a deal for the Nigerian international did not materialise and instead the Reds pivoted towards Rasmus Hojlund who they signed in August for £72 million.

Napoli forward Victor Osimhen has been tipped to ‘arrive’ at Chelsea as a move to Stamford Bridge would be the ‘most logical solution’ for the striker.

The 24-year-old scored 26 league goals for Napoli last season as he helped the Italian side win the Serie A title.

Osimhen was linked with a move to the Premier League during the summer transfer window but Napoli’s huge asking price made a summer transfer unlikely.

Napoli are able to demand a huge fee for their prized asset as he is under contract until 2025. They had hoped to tie him down to a longer deal but this now looks unlikely.

Osimhen is said to be ‘furious’ with Napoli as a video (which appeared to mock the forward) was posted via the club’s official TikTok account.

This video was swiftly deleted but transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has predicted that Napoli ‘will have to sell’ Osimhen in 2024 as this conflict may be difficult to overcome amid interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.

A fresh report from Calciomercato claims Napoli received ‘many approaches’ for Osimhen during the summer transfer window and at the time, they ‘requested at least 120 million euros’ from suitors.

It is noted that Napoli were reluctant to let Osimhen leave in the summer but their hand may be forced at some point next year as they have an unhappy player on their hands.

Regarding potential destinations for Osimhen, it is claimed that Chelsea are the ‘first and most logical solution’ for the Nigeria international. They have ‘expressed interest’, have ‘no limits on spending’ and ‘need a real number nine’ so he ‘could arrive at Stamford Bridge’.

Romano has also explained why Man Utd were not able to sign Osimhen during the summer.

“Manchester United considered Osimhen in the summer but it was impossible to negotiate with Napoli, as they were never even considering entertaining bids for anything less than €150m and that was far from what Man United could afford,” Romano told Caught Offside.

“Paris Saint-Germain were also linked with Osimhen several times, and Napoli even felt that PSG were the only club who could realistically afford their asking price for the Nigerian striker.

“Still, in the end, PSG never presented an official bid – instead they decided to bring in Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani for almost the same price.

“In truth, the biggest possibility for Osimhen was with Al Hilal. They were prepared to spend more than €150m on Osimhen before later signing Neymar and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

“It’s important to note that in this case, Napoli wanted more money for Osimhen – they were not going to accept only €150m from Saudi clubs, and so nothing happened.”

However, talk surrounding Osimhen’s future has restarted this week after Napoli’s official TikTok account shared videos playfully mocking their striker.

The forward’s agent Roberto Calenda criticised the videos in question and noted they had been “belatedly” deleted.

Calenda added he and his client “reserve the right to take legal action and any useful initiative to protect Victor”.

In a bid to smooth over the saga, Napoli released a statement on Thursday expressing their regret for the events of the last few days.

The statement read: “Calcio Napoli, wishing to avoid any exploitation of the issue, point out that we never wanted to offend or mock Victor Osimhen, who is a treasure of this club. As proof of that, during the summer training retreat, the club firmly rebuffed every offer that was received for the striker’s transfer abroad.

“Social media, in particular TikTok, has always used an expressive form of language with a light heart and creativity, without wanting to, as in the case with Osimhen as protagonist, have any intention of insult or derision. In any case, if Victor perceived any offence towards him, this was not what the club intended.”

With less than two years remaining on Osimhen’s deal at Napoli, it remains to be seen whether the forward’s future lies at the Italian club or not.