There have been rumours that Victor Osimhen has agreed on personal terms with Premier League side Liverpool but Rio Ferdinand has urged the Anfield outfit to be careful while signing him.
Napoli have offered Osimhen a new contract but as per the reports in Italy, the striker has stalled those talks to hold conversations with Liverpool.
Victor Osimhen has been a massive success at Naples but this season his relationship with the club has hit a rough patch which has been a great sign for all the suitors. Ferdinand, however, has made it clear that there’s risk involved in bringing the 24-year-old to England.
“Osimhen is a different kettle of fish,” Ferdinand said on his podcast. “He’s 24, he’s scored goals in France and now in Italy. Won the league (in Italy) and knows how to win leagues. He’s been a No.9 at a dominant team in the football league. Is that transferable to the Premier League? No one knows that. That’s the chance United would have to take on him.
“That’s the only risk I see. He doesn’t know the league – that’s it. Ability wise and profile, goalscoring, he ticks every box, but there is an unknown factor in does he know how to play in the Premier League? Can he adapt to the Premier League? But I wouldn’t see that as a big risk.”
Is Victor Osimhen going to join Liverpool?
The rumours that Liverpool have agreed on personal terms with Osimhen have spread like wildfire but Fabrizio Romano has been quick to come out and rebuff these claims.
Fabrizio Romano has said: “Some media is reporting that Victor Osimhen already agreed contract terms with Liverpool. Guys from what I’m told, Victor Osimhen hasn’t agreed anything with any club – not even with Napoli.
“There’s no agreement on the contract extension. Napoli made a really important proposal to Osimhen, in terms of contract, very important salary, the biggest in Napoli history is on the table for Osimhen. But he has not decided and he has not agreed anything with any club. So Osimhen will take his time. Reports of an agreement with Liverpool are not true. For sure, Liverpool and many other clubs are keeping an eye on the situation of many strikers. But at the moment for Osimhen, nothing is agreed and nothing is decided.”
Despite these false rumours, Liverpool are very much interested in signing the striker but according to an exclusive report by Teamtalk is claiming that Chelsea will go after Victor Osimhen.
The Blues are on the lookout for a world-class centre-forward and they will try and convince Osimhen to leave Napoli and join them next summer.
Liverpool or Chelsea: Who’s more likely to land him?
Napoli will demand £120-130 million for Victor Osimhen but their primary target still remains to tie him down to that new contract.
Chelsea, obviously have the money to sign someone like Osimhen and if Liverpool can sell Mo Salah to one of the Saudi teams, even they will have the money to go after the Napoli striker.
Money should not be a major issue for either of these two clubs so ultimately it will come down to two things.
Primarily, whichever club can offer Victor Osimhen European football will be in the front of the queue and clearly, it’s Liverpool who are the favourites right now because the way Chelsea have started their campaign, it will be very hard for them to get back into the Champions League next season.
Liverpool have what it takes to finish in the EPL top four so they will be confident of landing the striker however, Jurgen Klopp will have to guarantee him regular starts which will be hard with players like Nunez and Jota in the squad. If Mo Salah leaves there will be space on the right wing but neither Jota nor Nunez can play on that side of the pitch. A player like Victor Osimhen will definitely be ahead in the pecking order but with so many backup options, there’s no guarantee that he is going to remain the first-choice striker throughout the campaign.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are actively searching for a centre-forward and if Osimhen joins them, the Nigerian international will immediately be their main man. Lukaku isn’t returning while Nicolas Jackson and Armando Broja are both subpar which means the setup is perfect for Osimhen to come in and shine at Stamford Bridge.
To conclude, as things stand, Liverpool have a slight advantage in this transfer race but if the Blues can somehow return to the Champions League then Boehly’s side can surely jump to the front of the queue.
