'Victor's clause is very high' - Ex-Napoli defender would like to see Lukaku replace Osimhen  

The future of Victor Osimhen is yet to be resolved, less than two weeks before the start of Napoli's preparations for the forthcoming season.

The Nigeria international signed a new contract at Napoli last December with a release clause of 130 million euros. 

Despite attracting interest from Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, nothing is concrete at the moment as the aforementioned clubs have been put off by his asking price and have turned their attention to younger and cheaper alternatives. 

United have been linked with Bologna's Joshua Zirkzee, Chelsea with Atlético de Madrid's Samuel Omorodion and Arsenal with Sporting Lisbon's Viktor Gyokeres.

Should Osimhen depart the Diego Maradona Stadium as anticipated, Napoli have already lined up a replacement in the shape of Chelsea's Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku, who worked with new Napoli boss Antonio Conte at Inter Milan. 

Former Napoli defender Fabiano Santacroce has commented on the future of Osimhen and suggested that Lukaku would be the perfect replacement for the reigning African Footballer of the Year.

On Osimhen and Lukaku, Santacroce said on  'I Tempo', broadcast on Radio Capri, via Tutto Napoli: "Victor's clause is very high and I don't think the president signed that type of contract without having reassurances about the player's sale.

"They are probably waiting for something better than what they already have available but I think there is already a loophole.

"I would like to see Lukaku in Naples, he is a striker who knows how to act alone, he knows how to get the team going and above all he is already used to Italian football."

Osimhen is in Nigeria at the moment and must head back to Napoli for pre-season training next month if his future is still undecided. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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