Few modern-day players have had the bizarre journey that Victor Osimhen has been on over the last two seasons. In 2022, it looked like the young Nigerian had the world at his feet. He had just fired Napoli to their first Serie A title in 33 years and scooped up the Serie A Golden Boot at 23 with 26 goals—an integral and invaluable squad member. But in just over 18 months, the relationship has soured to a point where it looks like Victor will never play for Napoli again – so what clubs are in line for his signature?
Victor’s Current Situation
Move the dial forward to the end of the 2024 summer transfer window, and a bizarre twist of events has now culminated in Osmihen ending up at Turkish club Galatasaray.
Now, nobody is saying that Galatasaray is not a huge club. Of course they are. But given the current climate of European football, elite strikers are often courted by the top teams in England, Spain, or potentially Saudi Arabia. Wherever the biggest wages are, basically. The Turkish Super League currently doesn’t fit into that category.
At the mid-point of the summer transfer window, the sports betting odds looked like Victor would be on his way to Chelsea. He was in talks with them, but disagreements between Chelsea and Victor, which were reported as wage issues or being taken on loan instead of permanently, ultimately scuppered the deal.
With Victor set to spend this season in Turkey, sportsbooks and betting platforms are already speculating about his next move. Any sports betting platform that can identify a niche, whether through individual, unique markets or by offering alternate payments, has made a significant dent in the usual status quo of the traditional gambling sector.
Thunderpick Sportsbook has gone one step beyond that and allows cryptocurrency payments for similar markets at traditional sportsbooks, ranging from the top European leagues to other prominent sportsbooks and betting markets. Although Victor will be spending this season in Turkey, there’s already significant discussion about where he will be plying his trade next season – so let’s explore some of the possibilities.
A Return To Serie A?
One of the main catalysts for Victor’s joining Galatasaray was that the Turkish transfer window was still open after most of the European ones were closed. Chelsea couldn’t thrash out a deal for the Nigerian, and Osmihen’s relationship with Napoli had become so untenable that he wanted to move regardless. A return looks even less likely now that Romelu Lukaku has signed for Napoli in a big money move, filling the Osimhen-shaped hole in the Napoli frontline.
With the EPL’s mega wages proving to be a considerable attraction for Osimhen, it’s difficult to see him coming back to Serie A, whether he stitches up his relationship with Napoli or with another club in the league. However, Galatasaray wasn’t even in the running as his next club, and the highest odds you could find were for Victor to go to Liverpool at around 14/1 – nobody mentioned the Turkish giants until the final hour. So, while it might not seem a return to Napoli or Serie A is on the cards, there was a time that Galatasaray was not in the discussion, either.
Likely Scenarios
It feels like this season is just a delay to the inevitable, and the only two serious contenders for Victor’s signature are Chelsea and PSG. Following Kylian Mbappe’s departure to Real Madrid, PSG requires a replacement, and given the amount of financial capital at their disposal, they are likely to try to fill this void with a huge name. If Osmihen can replicate some of his 2021/22 form in Turkey, he will put himself right back in the shop window for the wealthiest clubs in Europe.
Chelsea were the frontrunners for his signature for extensive periods of the summer. Despite getting to a stage where a deal looked imminent, and the sportsbooks sliced the odds for the Nigerian to end up there, it felt like Osimhen was the only summer transfer target that Chelsea didn’t sign. They could come back in for him – but 12 months is a long time in football. Arsenal and Barcelona could believe that the Nigerian is the missing piece of their puzzle, too.
Let’s not rule out the possibility of a big-money move to Saudi Arabia, either. That league is developing exponentially, and it’s not just stars in the twilight of their careers moving there now; Ivan Toney joining Al-Ahli has set a precedent that could see other big names move to the league closer to their prime.
Final Say
It’s hard to say where any player will be in 12 months, at least with any degree of certainty. Osimhen needs to keep finding the back of the net for Galatasaray and avoid serious injuries. So long as he does that, all of the clubs interested in acquiring his services in the summer will likely come back in for him next summer, too.
Out of all the possible choices, we’d say the EPL will be his destination. If it’s not Chelsea, who will probably have had two more managers by then, or PSG can’t agree on terms, then we’ll likely see him at Liverpool or Arsenal.