Galatasaray president Dursun Özbek says that the Turkish champions do not plan to sell Victor Osimhen this summer though so many clubs, including Chelsea and Barcelona are interested in signing him.
Report has it that Clubs from England, Spain, Italy and France are keeping an eye on the 27-year- striker.. Özbek insists that the Galatasaray’s future is being built around Osimhen.
Özbek talks about the complicated negotiations that brought Osimhen to Turkey. He says it was one of the deals he has ever handled.
“We first signed Victor Osimhen on loan and he did well ” Özbek says. “He loves Galatasaray and Turkey much. He said he would stay at Galatasaray. We started talking to Napoli about buying him.
“He has a €75 million release clause. We started the transfer process from there, Napoli wanted a guarantee for Osimhen’s club. I’ve never seen anything like that before, they used the General Manager of UniCredit as their guide.
“We paid part of the money upfront. I paid part of it from my company. €35 Million, in that sense it was a difficult transfer so Osimhen showed that he deserved this money with his performance.
“Now Osimhen is making a generation of Galatasaray fans, and we’re very glad we signed him. We don’t plan to sell Victor Osimhen! Putting a price on a player you don’t plan to sell is pointless.
“Several big clubs still want to sign Osimhen, the likes of Chelsea are leading the way in the Premier League as former Nigeria captain John Obi Mikel publicly encouraged Chelsea to sign him. On the other hand, Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United are also keeping an eye on him.
“In Spain Real Madrid and Barcelona like Osimhen. Atlético Madrid think he would be a fit for their team. Juventus, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain are also interested.
“Galatasarays huge asking price is a big obstacle. The Turkish champions want more than €100 million, for him. Osimhen’s salary demands could also make it hard for interested clubs to sign him.
