Sports
Chelsea return to solve Osimhen’s transfer saga with Napoli
Chelsea are looking to ramp up interest in Napoli striker Victor Osimhen after the Nigeria international handed in a transfer request over the weekend.
The Nigerian international has long been linked with a move away from the club, having joined them from Lille in the summer of 2020.
Chelsea have held a long-standing interest in Osimhen and have previously held talks with the Italian side over a potential swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku.
New Napoli manager Antonio Conte is keen to reunite with Lukaku after the pair won Serie A together at Inter Milan in 2021, with the Belgian striker having struggled since returning to Stamford Bridge later that year.
Paris Saint-Germain were previously thought to have been leading the race for Osimhen but their talks are believed to have stalled over a fee.
It remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea do eventually make a move, with the Blues having previously been unwilling to pay his release clause, believed to be worth over £100m.
Still, Osimhen is determined to leave Naples this summer and sporting director Giovanni Manna confirmed over the weekend: “Victor Osimhen has asked to leave the club. He wants to go.
“The situation is clear, there were already chances for his exit last summer. Victor wants to leave. We will see in the next 20 days.”
Meanwhile, Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca, is looking to trim down his bloated squad as the new season approaches.
Maresca is preparing for his first season at Stamford Bridge, after replacing Mauricio Pochettino this summer.
Having inherited a large squad, Maresca now wants to cut it down to a manageable size.
It is believed Chelsea are hoping to have a first-team squad of around 23 or 24 outfield players.
The Blues have welcomed six new faces to Stamford Bridge under Enzo Maresca’s leadership, as the club continues its rapid evolution under BlueCo’s ownership. The new signings are getting acquainted during a pre-season tour of the United States, with a significant number of players left behind in London.
There are several players that Chelsea hopes to offload, some of whom were also on the selling block last summer. Malang Sarr has already had his contract terminated to facilitate his move to RC Lens.
Sarr, who arrived on a free transfer, was part of Thomas Tuchel’s Club World Cup-winning squad. Unable to secure a move last year, the Frenchman trained separately from the first team throughout the season. Both parties were keen to avoid a repeat of the 2023/24 situation, and Sarr agreed to forgo any compensation.
Sarr wasn’t the only player Chelsea struggled to sell last summer. Romelu Lukaku remained separate from the squad as he sought a move, but only managed to secure a loan to Roma.
The Belgian striker is once again hoping for a transfer, with Napoli potential suitors. This could lead to a reunion with former Chelsea and Inter Milan manager Antonio Conte.
Kepa Arrizabalaga, who was loaned to Real Madrid on the eve of last season, is likely to leave Chelsea in the coming weeks as his contract in west London winds down.
Chelsea have also made their intentions clear regarding Trevoh Chalobah. The defender, who was notably absent from Maresca’s squad that travelled to the US, is expected to be sold for a tidy profit.
Conor Gallagher, whose current deal expires in less than a year, was up for sale last summer and remains available. Despite being admired by Mauricio Pochettino, the England international is yet to join Chelsea’s squad following his Euro 2024 exploits but has attracted interest from Atletico Madrid.
Manchester United could ruthlessly let TEN players leave Old Trafford this summer as Ruben Amorim targets sweeping changes among his squad. The Red Devils have endured an awful campaign under the former Sporting Lisbon coach.
They only have one route remaining into the Champions League by winning the Europa League, while a bottom-half Premier League finish looks highly likely. And with Amorim targeting huge improvement next season, the United boss is eyeing a mass overhaul of his squad.
The Portuguese coach has already pointed to the fact that the club needs to sell before they can make any signings. That could potentially involve up to ten current stars being shown the exit door.
According to the Manchester Evening News, club chiefs are aiming for double figures in departures during the summer transfer window. Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton are expected to retire at the end of the current campaign, while Victor Lindelof and Christian Eriksen will leave at the end of their contracts.
Meanwhile, a host of stars have been made available for transfer with loanees Marcus Rashford and Antony among those who could be sold, while Jadon Sancho already has the option of a move to Chelsea, who have an obligation to buy the England winger for £25m despite the presence of a back-out clause.
Midfielder Casemiro has also regularly been linked with a move away from the club amid interest from Saudi Arabia. Despite forcing himself back into contention, he is still expected to be available this summer.
Left-back Tyrell Malacia could also depart, with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven having an option to sign him permanently. Goalkeeper Altay Bayindir may also be among those to leave as he eyes more first team football.
Amorim has yet to speak out on any individuals who could leave, but he has claimed that those shown the exit door will ‘understand’. Speaking earlier this month, he said: “We can talk about that [departures] at the end [of the season]. We have a lot of games to play.
“But that is clear, and I think that is not a difficult situation because everybody understands that in football; sometimes you stay, sometimes you have to move on.
“When you are honest with someone, they can take it. In the beginning, it is hard, but they will understand. So I’m quite honest with my players and they already know that sometimes they have to move on at the end of the season.”
Defending champions of the NWFL, Edo Queens FC, will on Wednesday
March 26th, 2025 file out against the host Abia Angels FC, in match day 09 of the Nigeria Women Football League NWFL title campaign.
Edo Queens who currently stand tall in group A with 20 points from 8 matches, will be tempted to eye fifth away win, having kept unbeaten records since the beginning of the new season.
Despite interest from the homers in Wednesday’s crack , the Ancient City based ladies are not ready to drop any point in this critical stage of the league, hence the girls are in killer mood ready to fly over Abia Ladies. A win in this crucial away game would further guarantee the team a spot in the Super 6 where winners of the league will be determine that will fly the country’s flag at the CAF Women’s Champions League showpiece for 2025 season.
Recall that Edo Queens spanked Abia Angels 5-0 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in match day 01 of the league. Have done wonderfully well, the Benin City Queens will be going into Wednesday’s encounter with full force not minding who is involve. For them, every game is a war, and they will fight until victory comes their way.
The week 9 game according to the NWFL fixtures will take place by 1 pm local time at the popular Umuahia Stadium in Abia State. This particular game is crucial to Edo Queens and remains a core part of Moses Aduku’s game that will separate him from other colleagues if he ends the regular season unbeaten.
Though there’s still two away bridges to cross, but in whatever way you look at it, the girls are ready and will remain focus until it is over.
Meanwhile, coach Moses Aduku has called for maximum concentration from the girls, adding that a win in Wednesday game will brighten their chances of staying on top and also keeping the hope of Super Super alive.
He stated this while addressing the players yesterday in Umuahia.
According to him: “We are here for real business, and so I want us to remain focused. Let them know that you are the defending champions.
You are aware that Edo Queens have not loss any game, so we should try and maintain that record. See every game as war. You humbled them in Benin by 5-0, you can still do same.
Last season they defeated us in Benin, but we came to their home and beat them. I believe we can do it again. I have so much confidence in you girls and by the special grace of God we will go back to Benin with our three points.”
Sitting quietly at one corner of the departure hall of the Kigali International Airport on Saturday morning, Super Eagles’ captain William Ekong had a relaxed mien about him, and minced no words in saying that Friday’s victory over Rwanda’s Amavubi was just the statement the Eagles needed to put out as the World Cup race reached halfway mark.
“It was important to make the statement that we did, and we’re all happy about it, and the way we did it. Of course, we have not qualified and there’s still a lot of work, but we have started the recovery in a good way and we just have to keep working hard.
“I don’t want to go into the circumstances that made the first four matches go the way they went. The good thing is we can still recover and revive the campaign, and we have done that.”
Ekong’s firm leadership, and Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Simon Moses’ zest at the fore, were all too evident and impactful as the Eagles coasted to a 2-0 win over hosts Rwanda at the Amahoro Stadium, throwing up nostalgia of the strong squad that wowed all and came within 23 minutes of lifting the Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivoire early last year.
As the chartered ValueJet Airline’s CRJ-900 aircraft touched down at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo at exactly 2pm on Saturday, Ekong told thenff.com that he would be rallying the troops ahead of Tuesday’s Day 6 encounter against the Warriors of Zimbabwe.
“We read somewhere that the Zimbabweans are being motivated to come to Uyo and get a result. They should forget it. We are hugely motivated by the ambition to play at the FIFA World Cup. Apart from myself and Alex (Iwobi) and perhaps a couple others, who were part of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, this generation is hungry to play at the highest level. We want to make Nigeria proud and at the same time, do ourselves proud.”
PHOTO 3: Ambitious Generation!
Victor Osimhen, whose brace unscrambled the calculations of the Amavubi and made them disappoint the capacity crowd that included President Paul Kagame, said at the Victor Attah Airport. “We are ready. The remaining matches are wars and we must fight them with all that we have to win.”
Victory on Tuesday evening will take Nigeria to nine points, and in firm contention for the ticket, especially if Benin Republic and South Africa cancel themselves out inside Abidjan’s Stade Félix Houphouet-Boigny.
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