Victor Osimhen has officially been crowned as the Italian Footballers’ Association (AIC) Footballer of the Year after a marvellous season in front of goal for Napoli.

The AIC awards, which began in 1968, include several notable accolades, including the team of the year, coach of the year, club of the year and goal of the season.

After leading the line in the Partenopei’s first title-winning season in 33 years, Osimhen and his teammates were recognised across various categories on Monday evening.

The most prestigious award of the night and the last to be handed out is the Player of the Year, which have previously been awarded to the likes of Rafael Leao, Gianluigi Buffon, Cristiano Ronaldo, Andrea Prilo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Osimhen was selected as the 2023 winner largely thanks to his goalscoring contributions. During Napoli’s Scudetto-winning campaign, the Nigerian found the net on 26 occasions from 32 Serie A appearances.

Despite a tougher start to the 2023-24 campaign and recent struggles with injury, Osimhen has continued his impressive goals-per-game ratio, with six from 10 after the 14th gameweek.

Chelsea have been handed a blow in their pursuit of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and may be forced to rush a deal for the striker, according to TEAMtalk.

The club have been screaming out for an experienced No.9 to help them collect more points and climb the Premier League table.

Osimhen is loved by the club and has been the favourite on the list of potentials for over a year. However, pressure may be applied for them to move quickly as several clubs line up a summer approach for the frontman.

Arsenal have eyes for the Nigerian and Mikel Arteta as well as sporting director Edu are both keen to make an audacious attempt to bring him to the Emirates Stadium. Sources in Spain are also suggesting Real Madrid are monitoring his situation and could be tempted to move.

This is a story that Chelsea have read before. When they signed Enzo Fernandez from Benfica in the January window of 2023 they were forced to move for the Argentine midfielder when it became apparent that there were many suitors for his signature the following summer.

Therefore, Blues bosses may be forced to move in the winter window to get ahead of the chasing pack. This would bring a very tricky negotiation with Napoli, who are shrewd with their business and will not sell below their valuation under any circumstances.

When Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali get involved a deal usually gets done. They stepped in during the Moises Caicedo saga in the summer and managed to get a very difficult deal over the line.

A huge winter deal of around £120million could happen if Chelsea feel the move is threatened. Furthermore, those close to the striker suggest he is interested in a move to the London side.

Reports in England claim Chelsea are set to make Napoli striker Victor Osimhen their primary target for January when they dip into the striker market.

Mauricio Pochettino wants to add a centre-forward to his squad in future windows, with the Nigeria international at the top of his list after his three seasons in Serie A where he has helped Napoli win the Scudetto.

According to the Telegraph, those close to him expect last year’s top scorer in Serie A to be open to a move to Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have a link with Osimhen through Kalidou Koulibaly, who left the club in the summer for Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia but has friends at the club. He is close to Osimhen, who was a team-mate at Napoli when the striker arrived from Lille in 2020.

Osimhen’s relationship with Napoli has been tested this season, with his representatives threatening legal action over a video posted on an official club TikTok account that mocked their own player. According to Italian sources, Chelsea would be a club the player would consider should he move away from Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

His deal taking him to Napoli three years ago was widely reported to be worth around €70 million to Lille but also saw youth players move in the opposite direction. With one full season left on his contract at Napoli, he would still earn them a huge profit on a player who was also at Wolfsburg in Germany and Belgian club Charleroi before moving to France.

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis spoke last month about the relationship between the player and club insisting that it is “entirely out of place” that there is tension between the two parties. They have changed managers this season, with Walter Mazzarri, the former Watford head coach, taking charge after the departure of Rudi Garcia.

Napoli defeated Atalanta 2-1 this weekend with the 24-year-old coming off the bench for his first appearance in six weeks following a hamstring problem.

Arsenal are weighing up moves for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Juventus’s Dusan Vlahovic should their move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney fall through, Ekrem Konur reports.

The Gunners will likely have to thin out their squad in order to launch a bid for Toney, who could command a £100m transfer fee.

Arsenal would face competition from Chelsea and Manchester United for Osimhen’s signature, while Vlahovic will be a cheaper option and suits the age profile of Mikel Arteta’s young squad.

Victor Osimhen scored Napoli’s second goal against Udinese on Wednesday evening after being chosen to start the Serie A encounter despite the player’s relationship with the club souring in the past 24 hours.

The Nigerian ended his four-game wait for a goal as he struck in the 39th-minute to double Napoli’s lead after Polish midfielder Piotr Zielinski initially put the hosts in-front.

Photo Credit: X

Chelsea and Liverpool have been handed blow over their move for Napoli star Victor Osimhen as Bayern Munich have reportedly turned to Napoi star Victor Osimhen after putting talks with Harry Kane on hold.

Tottenham have rejected a €70m offer for the England international, demanding €90m, so Bayern Munich have put talks on hold and consider making an offer for Osimhen.

Thursday’s printed edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport claims the Bavarians are unwilling to match Napoli‘s €180m asking price but will offer more than €100m.

Bayern would rather pay this fee for a 24-year-old striker than €90m for Kane, who will turn 30 on July 28. Talks between the club and the player’s entourage have already begun.

It remains to be seen if it will be enough for Napoli, who have reportedly rejected a €100m offer from PSG. Liverpool are also interested in Osimhen.

If the Nigeria international joins Bayern, he will reunite with Napoli defender Kim who has agreed to personal terms with the Bundesliga giants ahead of a transfer worth more than €50m.

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly ready to make an offer worth €150m for Victor Osimhen as Napoli are set to meet Victor Osimhen’s agent to discuss a new contract.

The centre-forward was already signed from LOSC for over €70m and has gone from strength to strength at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

President Aurelio De Laurentiis has given mixed messages, assuring Osimhen reached a verbal agreement to extend his contract to June 2027, but at the same time warning if an offer they can’t refuse comes in, then it must be considered.

According to Sportitalia transfer pundit Alfredo Pedulla, that bid could well come in from Paris Saint-Germain and including performance-related bonuses it would hit the magic €150m figure.

This would blow even Premier League competition out of the water, with Manchester United and Chelsea seemingly not too sure about going beyond €100m.

Considering the Nigeria international is only 24 years old and was Capocannoniere this season with 26 goals in 32 Serie A appearances, plus five in six Champions League matches, that simply would not be enough to make Napoli wobble.

Regardless, first Napoli will meet with Osimhen’s agent to discuss the situation.

Should the striker be sold, they have already identified Jonathan David of LOSC as his replacement.