It was his decision not to play for us again – Napoli Chief blames Victor Osimhen after freezing him out of first team following botched transfer deals

Napoli sporting director, Giovanni Manna has blamed Nigerian striker,  Victor Osimhen over the current hostilities between him and the club saying it was Osimhen’s decision not to play for the club again.

Osimhen’s move to Premier League club Chelsea and Saudi club Al Ahli collapsed on transfer deadline day in the most dramatic of fashions with the London club choosing to sign Jason Sancho while Al Ahli went for the less expensive Ivan Toney instead.

After the transfer deadline closed at midnight, August 31, the Nigeria international was excluded from Napoli’s Serie A squad and also stripped of the number 9 shirt which was given to new Napoli signing, Romelu Lukaku.

 Manna, however, says Osimhen is to blame.

“The situation is very clear, it has been since the end of last season. Victor expressed his absolute desire to not stay at Napoli, to not play for Napoli, and we tried to make him happy,” Manna told DAZN.

“Then there is a demand and an offer, we thought that we had concluded the negotiations, but then it did not go through. We bought Lukaku, kept Raspadori and Simeone, which was not to be taken for granted.

“At this moment, we maintain the same consistency we had since the start: he expressed the desire to no longer play for Napoli and so we made other choices.”

Manna also commented on the possibility of Osimhen joining another Saudi club.

“The transfer market is still open, there are many options, but I don’t think Victor will go to Saudi Arabia in this transfer session,” Manna added.

Osimhen’s situation is also a huge financial weight on the club, as his sale was meant to raise funds for new transfers.

“Our ideas were clear from the start. We were waiting to sell Victor to finance these operations, but the sale did not arrive and the President took on the responsibility to invest and reboot. He took on all the risk, he was incredible.”