Napoli's Osimhen Requests Transfer Amid Chelsea Swap Deal Talks

Napoli's club director, Giovanni Manna, has confirmed that Victor Osimhen has expressed his desire to leave the club before the new season begins. The Nigerian striker was notably absent from Napoli's squad during their Coppa Italia first-round match against Modena on Saturday. Despite a goalless draw, Napoli advanced to the next round with a 4-3 victory in penalties, thanks to Alex Meret's performance.

Initially, Osimhen was linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain, but the deal fell through due to his high price tag. Chelsea has now shown interest in acquiring him and is considering a swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku. Although no formal negotiations have taken place yet, Manna indicated that Osimhen is unlikely to play for Napoli this season. "Victor Osimhen has asked to leave the club," Manna stated. "He wants to go. The situation is clear; there were already chances for his exit last summer. Victor wants to leave. We will see in the next 20 days."

Antonio Conte expressed frustration over his team's performance in their 0-0 draw with Modena. Despite having 28 shots, only six were on target, resulting in an expected goals (xG) of just 1.37. Conte acknowledged that they missed Osimhen's goal-scoring prowess and emphasized the need for significant improvements in their attacking play before their first Serie A game.

"We have to keep working and we could have given a few more goals to the fans," Conte said post-match. "There is a lot of work to do on the pitch and also for the club. There are objective things that I don't want to underline. Tonight was a nice dose of reality for everyone."

Napoli will begin their Serie A campaign against Verona next Sunday.