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Napoli President Boast That Man Utd ‘Can’t Afford Osimhen’, Reveals The Only Club That Can

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Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has made a bold claim, stating that only Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) can afford to sign Victor Osimhen this summer

De Laurentiis has slapped an eye-watering price tag of €200 million on the Nigerian striker, effectively ruling out any potential move to Manchester United.

De Laurentiis expressed his stance in an interview with Sport Mediaset, saying, “The only club that can afford to take Osimhen away from us is Paris Saint-Germain. So if Nasser Al-Khelaifi wants to shell out around €200 million, then we will wait and evaluate.”

Manchester United had identified Osimhen as one of their top striker targets for the summer, alongside Harry Kane.

However, the financial demands surrounding both players now seem beyond the reach of the Manchester club, with Tottenham Hotspur also demanding a significant sum for Kane.

Meanwhile, Napoli is actively engaged in contract negotiations with Osimhen. According to Nicolo Schira, the Italian club has offered the 22-year-old forward a contract extension until 2027, which includes a substantial salary increase to €6.5 million per season plus bonuses.

The new contract may also feature a minimum fee release clause, though it would only become valid in July 2024.

Osimhen had an outstanding 2022-23 season, scoring an impressive 31 goals in 39 appearances across all competitions. His 26 Serie A goals made him the league’s top scorer, helping Napoli secure their first Scudetto in 33 years.

The Nigerian striker also found the net five times in the UEFA Champions League, guiding Napoli to the quarter-finals before ultimately losing to AC Milan on aggregate.

Osimhen’s absence due to injury in the first leg of the quarter-final tie has been cited as a significant factor in Napoli’s ultimate defeat.

The striker’s impact and prolific scoring ability have garnered attention from top clubs across Europe, further fueling speculation about his future.

De Laurentiis also revealed that the club is open to selling Osimhen this summer, but only if they receive a “more than indecent proposal.”

Osimhen’s previous transfer from Lille to Napoli already broke club records, with the fee potentially reaching €80 million.

Chelsea has long been linked with the Nigerian forward, intensifying their scouting efforts since last autumn.

Manchester United and Real Madrid have also shown interest, with the latter seeking a replacement for the departed Karim Benzema.

However, De Laurentiis is known for his tough negotiating tactics, as demonstrated in previous high-profile transfers involving Napoli.

The club extracted €90 million from Juventus for Gonzalo Higuain in 2016, sold Edinson Cavani for €64 million, and successfully fended off interest in Kalidou Koulibaly until his value peaked.

While De Laurentiis remains confident that Osimhen will stay at Napoli for the upcoming season, he has not completely ruled out a potential sale.

He stated, “We will see Victor Osimhen wearing our shirt next season, that’s for sure. Then if a more than indecent proposal arrives, we will move on and find another top talent, as we did with Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen.”

However, any proposal deemed too enticing to reject would likely require Osimhen to become one of the most expensive players in history.

Napoli values the 24-year-old at €150 million, a sum only surpassed by a select few, including Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

Osimhen himself has expressed his contentment at Napoli, declaring, “I am so happy I made the right choice by coming here.

Achieving greatness with the Neapolitans is something that will always bring a smile to my face.” As the transfer window progresses, it remains to be seen if any club will meet Napoli’s asking price for the talented Nigerian forward

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Fulham 0-2 Chelsea: Mudryk, Broja strike to earn Blues their second league win of the season

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Chelsea bagged two first-half goals to seal a crucial win over West London rivals Fulham at Craven Cottage and move up to 11th on the Premier League table.

The Blues flew out of the blocks as they debuted their new Infinite Athlete kit and created the first chance of the match after only 80 seconds, but Armando Broja could not capitalise.

Chelsea looked bright with Enzo Fernandez conducting affairs, and they picked the Cottagers apart.

Mykhailo Mudryk was looking electric and dangerous. The Ukrainian winger opened the scoring on 18 as he controlled a pass from Levi Colwill before slotting the ball beyond Bernd Leno.

It was Mudryk’s first Premier League goal following his £88 million move from Shakhtar Donetsk in January. And within seconds, Chelsea had their second.

Tim Ream had a moment to forget as he gave the ball away to Cole Palmer. The young English playmaker then slipped Broja in, but Ream hit the ball off the Albanian striker as the ball trickled past Leno.

Fulham tried to find gaps behind Marc Cucurella and Axel Disasi on the right side of Chelsea’s defence, but it was not working. Chelsea controlled the game and held their two-goal going into the break.

In the second 45, Fulham came out with more attacking poise, and it helped that Mudryk went off with a knock, giving Fulham the impetus to come forward, but Chelsea’s defence stood resolute.

Vinicius and Alex Iwobi came on for Fulham and helped their side find spaces beyond Chelsea’s backline, but the Boys in Blue defended well and showed they were still dangerous.

Ian Maatsen, on for Mudryk, hit the post, and Leno had to be quick to smother Fernandez’s rebound effort. Fulham forced Chelsea to work for their lead, but Mauricio Pochettino’s men looked up to it.

Substitute Tom Cairney created a lovely chance for Sasa Lukic. However, Robert Sanchez stuck out a brilliant leg to save the effort and keep his side in it.

On 83, Willian tried an effort from outside the box, but it did not cause any problems for Sanchez as Chelsea ran out 2-0 victors

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Man Utd winger Anthony in contention for Galatasaray UEFA champions league clash

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Erik ten Hag has confirmed that Antony could feature for Manchester United against Galatasaray after rejoining his ranks at Old Trafford.

The Brazil international forward was granted indefinite leave by the Red Devils following a series of alarming allegations made against him by former girlfriend Gabriela Cavallin.

Antony has been back in his homeland since then, allowing him to meet with police forces in Sao Paulo.

He returned to England last week and has held five hours of talks with Greater Manchester Police.

The 23-year-old winger maintains his innocence – having also faced accusations from two other women.

United have allowed him to focus on off-field matters of late, but revealed ahead of a Premier League meeting with Crystal Palace that Antony had been given a green light to return to training and was once again available for selection.

He has only taken in one session since then, suggesting that he will be short on match fitness, but Ten Hag says the South American is in his thoughts ahead of the Champions League group stage meeting with Galatasaray on Tuesday.

The Dutch coach has said: “Antony will be in consideration but yesterday was his first time back in team training. We have a final training, then we’ll make a decision.”

Ten Hag added when delivering an update on Lisandro Martinez – with the World Cup-winning Argentine defender still struggling with a long-standing foot injury: “I can confirm, yeah. Licha Martinez will undergo surgery and the team news is Antony can probably return.”

Antony’s last appearance for United came in the club’s 3-1 defeat at Arsenal on September 3.

He was removed from the Brazil squad for the last round of international fixtures and has not registered a goal for club or country since April 16.

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‘Rigged game!’ – Diogo Jota’s wife Rute Cardoso slams ‘clown’ officials

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Diogo Jota’s wife, Rute Cardoso, claims Liverpool’s controversial clash with Tottenham was “rigged” by the “clown” officials taking charge.

The Reds suffered a dramatic 2-1 defeat in north London that threw up all kinds of talking points. Luis Diaz saw a goal wrongly ruled out for offside, leading to PGMOL issuing an apology for a “significant human error” and Jurgen Klopp’s side calling for an investigation into how these mistakes keep on happening.

Liverpool also had Jota and Curtis Jones sent off, with questions being asked of both red card decisions. Jones was dismissed for a supposedly reckless challenge, which saw his boot slide over the top of the ball, while Jota made little contact with Destiny Udogie when collecting two yellows in the space of 22 seconds.

Cardoso has now hit out at referee Simon Hooper, his team of officials and those in the VAR booth. In one post on Instagram, which includes the statement from PGMOL, she has added the text “rigged game” with a line through it. She has also stuck a giant clown emoji onto an image of her husband collecting the first of his bookings for clipping the heels of Udogie.

Liverpool face the threat of a fine from the Football Association for collecting more than five yellow cards in one Premier League fixture, while Alexis Mac Allister is at risk of sanction after airing his own complaints on social media – with the World Cup-winning Argentine suggesting that Spurs benefited from having “12 players”.

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