Al-Hilal have reportedly made a transfer offer worth £59million to Napoli for Victor Osimhen amid ongoing talks with the player over personal terms.
That bid is less than the player’s reputed release clause, which stands at €75million (£63million). Osimhen is said to be the Saudi Pro League side’s clear target as they look to sign a striker, having missed out on the likes of Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes in recent months.
Chelsea remain interested in the Nigeria international, however, football.london understands they have concerns over the player’s wage demands.
An inability to convince Osimhen to lower those expectations is understood to be why a deadline day deal to sign the centre-forward last summer did not materialise.
Fabrizio Romano now reports Napoli have a decision to make on the offer from Al-Hilal. Their bid is said to be a guaranteed €60million (£55million) plus €5million (£4million) in add-ons.
GiveMeSport also claims Osimhen is open to joining the Riyadh-based club and has informed them of that stance ahead of a Friday deadline Al-Hilal set for him to decide on a move by. It is, however, said that the player has yet to communicate that feeling with Napoli.
They are also reportedly working on finalising personal terms as Osimhen has an offer purportedly worth almost €30million (£25million) per season, which would work out at around €577,000 a week (£486,000).
Chelsea seem unlikely to be able to compete with those reported salary figures because of their strict wage structure.
The Saudi club are said to be optimistic about reaching an agreement, albeit they continue to be cautious after previously coming close to signing the player two years ago.
Regarding the transfer fee, Al-Hilal are reputedly ready to trigger the player’s release clause if they cannot agree to a lower price with Napoli. There appears to be a belief that the Italian club will insist on any offer matching that £63million valuation.
