Napoli’s star striker Victor Osimhen has been named Italy’s 2022 Best Foreign Athlete, an honor presented by the Foreign Press in Italy after an outstanding year. The Super Eagles forward has been relentless in front of goal, finishing the 2021/22 season with 18 goals and five assists in 32 games, including 14 league goals in 27 appearances. Seven of those league goals came after the turn of the year. This season he has continued his prolific form, netting 19 league goals in 21 matches and adding two goals in four Champions League games. In the first half of the 2022/23 campaign he scored ten times, nine of them in Serie A, despite missing a month of action. His exceptional displays have earned him recognition as the best foreign athlete in Italy for 2022.
Meanwhile, English Premier League giants Chelsea are reportedly prepared to double Osimhen’s current salary in an effort to lure the Nigerian to Stamford Bridge. According to CalcioMercato, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is ready to break the bank to sign one of Serie A’s most exciting talents, who is currently Napoli’s second‑highest earner with a weekly wage of €104,808 (N51 million) and a monthly total of €419,232 (N204 million), amounting to €5 million (N2.5 billion) a year. If the report is accurate, Osimhen could earn around N5 billion annually should he join the Blues.
The interest is not limited to Chelsea. Manchester United’s manager Erik Ten Hag has placed Osimhen at the top of his club’s reinforcement list, and Tottenham Hotspur are also keen, especially if Harry Kane departs north London. Tottenham could soon have the funds needed, while Chelsea’s recent spending under Boehly suggests they can outbid rivals with a British‑record offer.
Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentis, however, is unwilling to sell his star forward cheaply. He has set a price tag of €130 million (£115 million) for the 24‑year‑old ahead of the summer transfer window. The club’s stance indicates that any potential move will require a substantial bid, but Chelsea’s financial muscle may make such an offer feasible.
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