Giuseppe Cannella has advised Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis to not go below €150 million in his negotiations with clubs interested in Victor Osimhen.
The 24-year-old Nigerian striker has been showing glimpses of his quality despite serious injuries stuttering his time at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium. Those glimpses were already enough to get De Laurentiis and his executives' phones buzzing.
They had already beaten several of the interested clubs to him in 2020 when they paid €72 million to LOSC Lille, where the Super Eagles striker spent one successful season after moving from RSC Charleroi in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League. They are now on the verge of selling him thanks to his increasing stock in the transfer market.
De Laurentiis has already pegged a €120 million transfer fee on him and there has already been discussions to that effect with a few interested parties. Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester United and Bayern Munich are the main clubs in the race. Osimhen, however, might have already ruled out a return to France or Germany after expressing his dream to play in the Premier League. This leaves only Man United and Chelsea as his potential destinations.
As the season draws to a close and transfer talks between European clubs intensify ahead of the summer window, Giuseppe Cannella has hammered home Osimhen's importance and value to the powers that be at the Serie A leaders.
🔵 Napoli in Serie A so far:
🏟️ 31 games
📊 78 points
🥅 67 goals scored
🧤 16 clean sheets
⚽️ Top scorer: Osimhen (21)
🎯 Top assister: Kvaratskhelia (10)✓ Napoli are 𝗼𝗻𝗲 win away from winning the Serie A title. 🎉 pic.twitter.com/rQWAhKPXao
— PurelyFootball ℗ (@PurelyFootball) April 24, 2023
Cannella worked as the sporting director for Salernitana, Modena and Siena and is well aware of how these talks go. He is also well aware of how a player is valued. Pulling from this experience, he put the world out to Napoli to only let Osimhen leave for €150 million.
He started by praising Napoli's transfer market moves in the past, which has seen them secure the services of key players like Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Kim Min-jae.
“In recent years, Napoli have improved a lot with the experiences of the transfer market,” Cannella said. “The reinforcements have been the right ones, the market is always open, and it is normal that in the event of very important offers, the club will not have to be found unprepared.”
Cannella then talked about how difficult it can be for clubs to keep players happy, especially when they are in a good run of form like the Super Eagles striker.
“When you have a club that supports you and understands that keeping important players means raising all salaries, it is better to sell and reinforce than anything else. 150 million for Osimhen is very good, he added.
“Think of the footballer’s entourage who could ask for very high commissions and salaries. He should not be stopped.”
Cannella's advice is one that De Laurentiis would have received many times and is one he is most likely operating on.
The price tag is also a big deterrent and could go on to favour the Partenopei in the long run. Osimhen is the current face of the club and a few more years like the one he is currently having could do them a world of good, both sporting and financial wise.
This article was most recently revised and updated 1 year ago