Osimhen to Chelsea rumours ramp up after wild Napoli TikiTok scandal

Victor Osimhen could join Chelsea after the latest scandal at Napoli involving two TikTok videos mocking the player.

Napoli’s Victor Osimhen is reportedly on his way out of the Serie A club following a recent scandal involving the club’s TikTok account. Napoli’s TikTok account posted two videos mocking Osimhen. One mocked Osimhen for missing a penalty. The other compared him to a coconut, prompting many to call the videos racist. Osimhen’s camp has threatened legal action. 

With all the drama surrounding Osimhen, long-dead transfer rumours involving the player have been reignited. As was in the summer, Chelsea now appears to be his most likely transfer destination. A move could happen as early as the January transfer window. 

TikTok videos the last straw for Osimhen

It is no secret that Victor Osimhen and Napoli do not have the best relationship. After playing a key role in Napoli’s Scudetto-winning season last year, the 24-year-old Nigerian prodigy wanted a renewed contract. 

Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis was unwilling to accommodate Osimhen’s request. This led to Osimhen informally asking to leave the club. As De Laurentiis often does with his star players, the Gli Azzurri president slapped a ginormous price tag on Osimhen. No club was willing to pay the price, so Osimhen reluctantly had to stay at Napoli. 

The Nigerian’s stay at Napoli could soon finally be over now that the club has posted two mocking videos to their TikTok account. The two videos reportedly infuriated the Napoli striker, and he now wants out of the club.

Osimhen’s agent has threatened to sue the club over the mocking TikToks, the player has deleted all references to Napoli on his own social media accounts, and Osimhen was spotted giving the cold shoulder to Napoli staff and players before their game against Udinese on Wednesday. 

Transfer speculation goes wild

As we mentioned above, the entire world knew that Osimhen wanted out of Napoli last summer. The Nigerian striker was linked to several clubs in Europe and Saudi Arabia. Bayern Munich, Tottenham, Manchester United, and Chelsea are just some of the names who were reportedly chasing Osimhen. 

Now that it once again appears that Osimhen is on the way out at Napoli these rumours have reignited. However, many of these teams no longer look like viable options. Bayern Munich signed a superstar forward in Harry Kane, and Manchester United have invested in Rasmus Hojlund as their long-term striker. There also is the added issue of whether Napoli is willing to sell. 

Club president De Laurentiis is more than willing to keep a player at Napoli who does not necessarily want to be there until he gets a good transfer offer. 

According to Transfermarkt, Osimhen’s transfer value is €120m ($198.4m AUD). Transfermarkt’s valuations are by no means 100% accurate, but it would likely take close to €100m to get Osimhen. 

Chelsea the only viable option

The challenges associated with getting Osimhen’s signature makes the number of viable clubs who could sign him very small. Manchester United are a dysfunctional mess and have already spent big on a striker. Bayern have also already signed a big-name striker. Tottenham theoretically could spend their Harry Kane money, but it would not be in line with their current transfer plans to sign Osimhen. 

With those clubs eliminated, Chelsea is the most logical landing spot for Osimhen. Chelsea are willing to spend, desperately need a striker, and have worked with Napoli before. Osimhen has not spoken about the possibility of joining Chelsea, but if he really wants out, it would not be surprising to see Osimhen and his camp become more vocal about potential landing spots. 

Whatever happens to Osimhen, this transfer saga could be one of the wildest in recent memory. Chelsea are surely willing to pay, but with all the dysfunction at their club and at Napoli, truly anything can happen.