Napoli coach Antonio Conte insists that the club was ‘consistent’ in dealing with Victor Osimhen and that the Nigerian forward won’t be reintroduced to the first team.
Conte spoke about the Osimhen transfer saga on Saturday night following a 2-1 win over Parma at the Stadio Maradona.
Osimhen has been left out of Napoli’s Serie A squad, and his replacement, Romelu Lukaku, received the No.9 at the Stadio Maradona.
How the Osimhen, Al-Ahli, Chelsea transfer saga unfolded on deadline day
Osimhen was in talks with PSG, Chelsea and Al-Ahli during the summer, but no club managed to reach an agreement with both Osi and the Partenopei.
Conte said at a post-match press conference on Saturday that the summer transfer window was “tough” for the Partenopei.
“Some issues blocked it; perhaps if we had unlocked that [Osimhen] situation, we would have completed the team differently and earlier,” said the coach.
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“The club made an effort, and I must be happy with it.”
In fact, Napoli bought Lukaku from Chelsea for €30m despite not receiving the money from Osimhen’s sale.
“I’m sorry about what happened. I’m sorry for Osimhen. I’m sorry for the club that didn’t monetize. I am sorry for myself because we didn’t complete the team as we wanted, but the club proved to be consistent in this situation,” continued Conte.
“Coherence is the starting point when it comes to respecting the rules. The club proved consistent, so I praise them for this attitude.”
Mario Rui is also not part of Napoli’s Serie A squad, so Conte was asked if he’s planning to reintroduce some players to the first team.
“No, this is the team. This is the group,” he replied.
“We made decisions. I mentioned coherence before. Those who are not consistent don’t respect the rules. I repeat, respect to the club. The president proved consistent despite losing important money—credit where credit is due. The club were consistent, knowing that if the situation had unlocked earlier, we would all have been advantaged. As I said, we’ve started rebuilding. Good players arrived. They were on the table. It took us time to understand and think about it, but we signed them, and I am happy. We didn’t do everything, and it’s okay, but I think the club did well.”
Conte happy with Lukaku at Napoli, but furious at ‘absurd’ transfer rules
When Napoli start loosing many match conte tone will change I bet you ,
And when will that be?
osinmen is in a bad position and it will cost him his career. No club is serious with him because he is over rated and it seem as he is not able to humble himself. money make African players to self killing…..the 2022 succes was by accident and all big clubs are aware plus napoli asking too much money. he may at the end leave as a free agent but his career will be destroyed. happily he should be collecting his salary even without playing and saving well for the future