Victor Osimhen’s suitors are running out of time to capture the Napoli hitman as president Aurelio De Laurentiis has revealed the Nigerian is close to agreeing a new contract.
Osimhen, 24, has lit up Serie A since arriving in Naples from Lille in July 2020, with his greatest achievement so far scoring 31 league goals as the Azzurri clinched a long-overdue Scudetto last season.
Arsenal, Chelsea and Real Madrid are reportedly among the clubs keen to fire up their forward lines with the recruitment of Osimhen, who remains hot property despite enduring an injury-ravaged 2023-24 campaign so far.
While a future move to the Premier League or LaLiga is still entirely possible, De Laurentiis on Saturday revealed Osimhen is on the verge of agreeing a new deal at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
He told Gazzetta ahead of Sunday’s clash with Inter Milan: “With Osimhen we are at the stage of signing the contract, the one that has been left pending since last summer.”
Napoli’s other superstar is Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has made a huge impression since making his unheralded switch from Dinamo Batumi last year.
De Laurentiis is even less concerned about the Georgia winger departing Napoli, though, adding: “Kvaratskhelia still has a four-year contract, what’s the point of asking about him now? Let’s try not to be too negative.”
On the showdown with Inter, which continues a baptism of fire for new boss Walter Mazzarri, De Laurentiis said: “We don’t have a left-back. Two are out injured.
“Then we have a new coach, to whom we have given a huge responsibility, because he has had to immediately face Atalanta and Real Madrid. Now we have another tour de force as we play Inter and then Juventus.
“Are two days enough to prepare for Inter, without two full-backs? It seems a bit difficult to me. Then five days to prepare for Juventus… we have to lay all our problems out on the table so we can be objective about them.”
Alessandro Zanoli will face a late check before the match while left-backs Mario Rui and Mathias Olivera are out for three weeks and two months respectively. On Inter’s treatment table are defenders Benjamin Pavard and Alessandro Bastoni.
Verona 2-2 Inter: Arnautovic double earns point for Serie A winners
Champions Inter end their Serie A season with a 2-2 draw against Verona thanks to a Marko Arnautovic double.
The Austrian opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a neat finish, but Inter were soon pegged back as Tijjani Noslin equalised six minutes later.
The Dutchman then set up Tomas Suslov for their second to turn the game on its head, but another smart finish from Arnautovic on the stroke of half-time ensured they would salvage a point.
Simone Perilli proved the hero for Verona in the end, pulling off a string of fine saves to keep his side level.
Data Debrief: Landmark for Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi has now earned 250 points as a coach in Serie A with Inter, an achievement only Roberto Mancini has reached so far with the Nerazzurri in the three-points-per-win era (436). This draw takes him up to the landmark after 77 wins and 19 draws (18 losses).
After winning the Scudetto with five games to go, Inzaghi has led Inter to 94 points in Serie A, with only three teams ever earning more points in a single campaign in the competition in the three-points-per-win era: Inter in 2006-07 (97) and Juventus in 2013-14 (102) and 2017-18 (95).
Bonucci calls time on glittering career
Leonardo Bonucci has called time on his glittering career, after playing his final game for Fenerbahce.
The decorated defender announced on Saturday that he would retire at the end of the Turkish Super Lig season, which concluded with Ismail Kartal's side inflicting a 6-0 rout on Istanbulspor.
However, it was not quite enough to snatch the title from Galatasaray, who finished three points clear after a 3-1 victory at Konyaspor on the final day.
Bonucci, who signed from Union Berlin in January, was given a wonderful reception as he was presented with a plaque before the game, in which he came on as a 64th-minute substitute.
The 37-year-old enjoyed the most success during his career with Juventus, where he won eight Serie A titles and reached two Champions League finals, while he helped Italy to glory at Euro 2020.
"It was a pleasure for me to be a part of this wonderful family," he said of his time at Fenerbahce on Saturday. "I tried to show my best on and off the field.
A statement on the club website paid tribute to Bonucci, reading: "It was an honour to see a legend like you in a Cubuklu jersey.
"At this special moment of your career, we would like to thank you on behalf of the entire Fenerbahce family. We wish you successful and healthy days in which you will be a part of football in your future life."
Napoli 0-0 Lecce: Azzurri's European hopes end with goalless season finale
Napoli missed out on their slim chance to participate in Europe next season after being held to a 0-0 home draw by Lecce in their final Serie A game of the campaign on Sunday.
After a lacklustre first half, Napoli had chances to win the game in the second, with Cyril Ngonge coming closest when he rattled the crossbar.
Patrick Dorgu had already given the Azzurri a scare just nine minutes in, firing Lecce's first shot off Alex Meret's post.
Napoli had to win to climb to ninth place, but instead, finished below Torino, who lost 3-0 to recently crowned Europa League champions Atalanta, due to their head-to-head record.
Torino could now earn a Europa Conference League play-off spot if Fiorentina beat Olympiacos in that final on Wednesday.
Data Debrief: Napoli's season fizzles out
Napoli finished the season on 53 points - it is the second-worst return for a team that started the season as Serie A reigning champions in the three-point-per-win era after Milan in 1996-97 (43).
After scoring in each of their 12 home matches against Lecce in Serie A prior to Sunday's match, Napoli failed to find the back of the net against them for the first time at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
