Napoli appear to have dropped Victor Osimhen from the first team and given his shirt number to Romelu Lukaku.
The 25-year-old striker was supposed to leave the club on deadline day, but moves to Chelsea and Al Ahli fell through.
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It is believed that Chelsea delegates were in Naples until the last moment of the transfer window before agreeing that no deal could be done.
The Blues informed Napoli that they would loan Osimhen with an obligation to buy, but could not agree on personal terms with the striker.
Meanwhile, Al Ahli have signed Ivan Toney from Brentford for £40 million, despite having already agreed a deal to buy Osimhen on Friday.
It was claimed that Napoli accepted a bid worth £67 million and offered Osimhen a four-year package worth £135 million in salary and bonuses.
Chelsea were unwilling to accept the terms offered in Saudi Arabia and did not want to spend too much on the deal for profit and sustainability reasons.
The Nigerian eventually stayed at Napoli despite his relationship with the club having broken down.
Now Osimhen no longer appears on the club’s website, while new signing Lukaku is listed as number 9.
Lukaku ended his Chelsea nightmare by reuniting with Antonio Conte on a permanent deal for £30million on Thursday.
The Saudi transfer window is still open, offering Osimhen a possible way out.
However, Al Ahli has exhausted its quota of foreign players, so a move to the PIF team after Toney’s arrival is unlikely.
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Earlier this week, Osimhen’s agent Roberto Calenda wrote a statement to X insisting that his client remains of use to Napoli.
Calenda said: “Osimhen is a Napoli player whose contract was recently renewed to the satisfaction of both parties.
“He made history and when there were big offers (including this year), we always accepted the club’s decisions. As I said, he is not a package that can be sent far away to make room for new prophets.”
“Victor was voted African Footballer of the Year and came eighth in the Ballon d’Or. There is still so much ahead of him in Europe.
“There must be respect and balance.”
Osimhen has scored 61 goals in 108 Serie A appearances and helped Napoli win the 2023 title.
He had previously argued with the club over a social media post from their own accounts in which he was apparently mocked for missing a penalty.
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