Napoli want the full £113m release clause for Chelsea target Victor Osimhen who will leave Naples this summer.
The Blues are looking for a new striker in the upcoming transfer window as they desperately try to find a solution for their issues in front of goal.
Nigerian international Osimhen is one of Chelsea’s main targets and signed a new contract in December last year containing a release clause, but the Stamford Bridge outfit face competition from Arsenal and Paris Saint Germain.
Club president Aurelio De Laurentiis admitted yesterday that he wouldn’t be able to stop the 25 year old from leaving and speaking to Sky Sports at the Financial Times’ Business of Football Summit in London, he said: “Osimhen is a very great player, but you know Napoli is a fantastic place.”
“There are certain players who fell in love with Napoli and stayed, like Marek Hamsik for 11 years. Or like others for eight years.”
“And there are others who are attracted by Real Madrid, by Paris Saint Germain, by Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea. So you cannot stop them, especially when they have a fixed amount of money where they can be bought.”
On Osimhen specifically Napoli’s president added that the money isn’t a concern for the club and said:
“He has a release clause. It’s a very big amount of money. Who knows who will leave, we will see.”
“The money is the last problem for Napoli. We always made very good acquisitions as we did in the past. We will do so in the future.”
De Laurentiis is regarded as one of the toughest negotiators in world football and if the Blues are to prize Osimhen away they will know they wont get away with paying anything less than the full release clause.
The Nigerian’s season has been interrupted by injury but he has still scored 13 goals and provided four assists from 21 appearances in all competitions.
