The deal to loan Victor Osimhen to Galatasaray has been sealed after the failed deals for the Nigeria international to join Chelsea and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli.
The move from Napoli was completed on Wednesday, two days after the Super Eagles striker arrived in Turkey to a hero’s welcome.
“Our Galatasaray officially announced that it has reached an agreement on the temporary transfer of professional football player Victor Osimhen,” the Turkish giants confirmed on their official website.
According to the terms of the deal, Osimhen will earn his full €10m per year salary, while there is a break clause in January in case there is interest from other clubs from bigger European leagues.
“Born on December 29, 1998 in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, Osimhen began his football career at a young age by playing for his country’s team, the Ultimate Strikers,” Galatasaray added as they profiled their new star.
“In 2017, he was discovered by the German club Wolfsburg and transferred for 3.5 million Euros. He played on loan for two seasons at the Belgian team Charleroi. He attracted attention with his performance of 20 goals and 4 assists in 36 matches. In the 2019-20 season, he was transferred to the French team Lille for 22.4 million Euros.
“He continued his top-level performance in the Lille team, scoring 18 goals in 38 matches and making 6 assists. A season later, he was transferred to Napoli, where he would make the most important breakthrough of his career, for a transfer fee of exactly 77.5 million Euros.
“Adapting to the league in his first season, Osimhen attracted attention as an important forward in Serie A and European matches. He achieved the success of becoming Serie A champion in the 2022-2023 season with Napoli. He contributed to the championship with 26 goals and became the top scorer. He was listed as the 4th most valuable player in the world among active forwards.
“The successful centre forward, who also showed a superior performance under the Nigerian jersey, was unrivalled in the African Cup of Nations Qualifiers with 5 goals in the 2019-20 season and 10 goals in the 21-22 season.
“Osimhen, a complete forward with his speed, power, aerial control and finishing ability, will work hard for Galatasaray’s success until the end of the season. We wish our player great success.”
There are reports that Napoli agreed to slash the release clause for Osimhen to €75m after the €130m initially inserted into his contract scared off suitors.
