Fabrizio Romano not convinced Chelsea target Osimhen is close to signing a new deal with Napoli

Fabrizio Romano has rebutted Napoli's claim that they are on the verge of reaching an agreement with Chelsea target Victor Osimhen over a new deal.

As earlier reported, Napoli President  Aurelio de Laurentiis had asserted that the negotiation is at the signing stage but that claim has now been controverted by Romano.

It appears Napoli are beginning to feel the heat as Osimhen is continuously being linked with a move away from the club and that won't stop until they successfully convince the Nigerian striker whose current contract ends in 2025  to commit his long-term future to the club.

This isn't the first time that the Serie A defending champions have been faced with a conundrum like this as they were in this same situation with Kalidou Koulibaly recently and were forced to sell the Senegal international to Chelsea with a year left on his contract.

Osimhen is highly coveted by Chelsea who have been a long-term admirer of his quality while Arsenal have also been linked with him.

The two English clubs should be encouraged with the latest utterances of Romano who believes the Super Eagles forward isn't close to signing a new contract.

"I'm not sure they are that close to signing a new deal. Napoli like to use the media to put some pressure – they are trying with the best proposal of their history, higher than the likes of Cavani or Higuain had in recent years," Romano told Caughtoffside

"But from what I'm hearing there is no full agreement. It's not a done deal. I think the opportunity for Osimhen to leave in summer 2024 remains really concrete. I don't think January is realistic, but there could be a summer move."

Should the 24-year-old fail to agree a new deal before the end of the season, competition for his signing might become intense owing to his quality.

He was awarded the Serie A Best Striker award last season having ended the campaign with the most goals and also received the Italian Footballers'  Association Player of the Year prize earlier this week.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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