Despite the Partenopeiโs sluggish summer transfer window causing the Italian tactician to express his utter frustration in the press, coach Antonio Conte managed to obtain the reinforcements he desired in a wild deadline day.
Gianluca Di Marzio indicated that the Azzurri managed to seal the acquisition of Manchester United holding-midfielder Scot McTominay for a hefty fee of โฌ30.5m.
In addition, following the injury of Celtic midfielder Matt OโRiley whom was supposed to serve as the replacement for Scottish midfielder Billy Gilmour, Napoli shifted their focus towards Juventus midfielder Arthur as he was not considered in coach Thiago Mottaโs plans this season.
Just as it seemed like the Brazilian international was going to arrive to Naples, the Partenopei called off the deal as they managed to reach an agreement with Brighton on โฌ14m transfer, securing the last minute signing of former Chelsea attacking-midfielder Gilmour.
However, Napoli remain in an immense predicament as they failed to offload Nigerian forward Victor Osimhen before the closure of the market to either Chelsea or Saudi.
Osimhen reached an agreement on a four-year contract with Al Ahli worth โฌ40m per-season, which included a relatively low release clause, but the Saudi side failed to come to terms with Napoli as a difference of โฌ5m in transfer fees resulted in deal not being sealed.
In addition, despite the Nigerianโs primary choice Chelsea having reached an agreement with the Azzurri, the London Blues failed to submit a contract proposal that was to Osimhenโs and his representativesโ liking.
As it stands, the club made it clear that despite Osimhenโs stay, the 25-year-old is to be excluded completely from the squad and will not take part in any first-team action.
With the Saudi transfer window remaining open for a few more days, it remains to be seen if a transfer for Osimhen can materialize imminently.
Julian Faustini ฮ GIFN
