Roberto Calenda, a member of Victor Osimhen's entourage, has confirmed that Totteham Hotspur, Liverpool and Barcelona pushed to sign the Nigeria international before Napoli won the race for the striker's signature.

The 2015 U17 World Cup winner ended his association with Lille at the end of last month after inking a multi-year contract with the Italian Serie A outfit in exchange for at least 70 million euros, making him the most expensive African-born player in history.

Osimhen's 18 goals and six assists from 38 appearances in all competitions last season alerted many European giants to his ability, and he proved he can deliver on the big stage by finding the net against Chelsea and Valencia in the Champions League.

"I usually never talk about these things, out of respect for professionalism and the club. It is right that Napoli say things as they went, they are the main players," Calenda said on Radio Marte via Tuttomercatoweb.

"I can say that it was a well-conducted negotiation by the parties, started from a distance.

"The signing took place outside the giant eye of communication and we were good at keeping track of it.

"Difficult operation, Tottenham and Liverpool wanted Osimhen until the last, even Barcelona initially wanted him in place of Suarez . Napoli, however, did everything, they wanted it and took it."

Osimhen endeared himself to Napoli fans by scoring a hat-trick in less than ten minutes and provided two assists on his non-competitive debut last Friday.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel