Manna: ‘Osimhen blocked, Napoli stay if no deal’ with Chelsea, Arsenal or PSG | OneFootball

Napoli director Giovanni Manna confirms Victor Osimhen’s situation is ‘blocked’ and if Chelsea, Arsenal or PSG don’t complete a swoop, he could continue his career at the club.

The Serie A opener against Hellas Verona kicks off at the Stadio Bentegodi at 17.30 UK time (16.30 GMT).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game, Bologna–Udinese, Cagliari–Roma and Lazio–Venezia on the LIVEBLOG.

The Partenopei have a weakened squad for this game, as Osimhen, Michael Folorunsho, Gianluca Gaetano and Mario Rui are all left out pending possible transfers.

This situation irritated coach Antonio Conte, who complained the transfer strategy was “blocked” by the failure to sell Osimhen.

“It’s an objective fact, what the coach said, the situation is blocked. Victor is an important player, with an important value and conditions. His desire is clear. We tried to maintain the integrity of the squad at this moment. We are not the only club in this situation and we’ll see what happens over the next 10 days,” Manna told Sky Sport Italia.

He was asked if the club had sensations for whether the Nigerian was leaning towards Chelsea, PSG or Arsenal?

“At this time, it is not right to say what sensations there are. We are working with his entourage to find the best solution. As we said, he is an important player, so it’s not that we can just find him anywhere.”

If nobody is willing to pay the right fee, could Osimhen even stay at Napoli?

“He is under contract for another two seasons, so clearly if we don’t find a solution by August 30, we’ll have to talk to the player.”

Osimhen stalling entire Napoli strategy

Conte was extremely critical of the club’s transfer strategy so far, saying in a press conference yesterday that he ‘expected more’ by this stage of the season. Did that hurt the director of sport?

“Absolutely not. We too are not happy with this situation, we wanted to be more ready for the start of the season. We didn’t manage it for many reasons, the most obvious being the one we just talked about.

“We have to work to build a team that is functional to achieve our objectives.”

Manna was also asked about the progress in Napoli’s negotiations for Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Billy Gilmour, as well as Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.

“They are talented players, who are not in our squad. There’s no point talking about this now, there is a match this afternoon we have to focus on and from tomorrow we can talk about the transfer market again.”

There is at least one new signing today, because Brazil international David Neres landed at Fiumicino Airport in Rome this afternoon and will have his medical tomorrow.

That deal can be completed for a total €28m from Benfica.