Antonio Conte confirms brutal stance on Chelsea target Victor Osimhen with Saudi Arabia move in doubt

Napoli director Giovanni Manna believes Victor Osimhen will not join a club in Saudi Arabia.

The Nigeria international was desperate to leave the club over the course of the summer and handed in a transfer request.

Chelsea had held a long-term interest in the forward and pushed to sign him during the closing stages of the transfer window, having sold Romelu Lukaku to the Italian giants.

Al-Ahli also agreed terms with Napoli over a move for Osimhen but eventually landed Brentford’s Ivan Toney instead. The club only had two slots available for foreign players before signing the England international.

The Saudi Arabian transfer window does remain open until September 2, meaning Osimhen could theoretically join another club in the division until that point.

Manna, however, does not think the former Lille forward will make the move to the Saudi Pro League even despite his unwillingness to play for Napoli again.

“The situation is very clear,” he told DAZN.

“Victor expressed his absolute desire to not stay at, or play for, Napoli. We tried to make him happy.

"Then there was demand and an offer, and we thought we had concluded negotiations, but then it didn't go through. He expressed his desire to no longer play for Napoli and so we made other choices.

"The transfer market is still open [in some countries], so there are many options, but I don’t think Victor will go to Saudi Arabia."

Speaking after Saturday’s dramatic win over Parma in Serie A, manager Antonio Conte said of the striker: “No player will be reintegrated.

“Those who are out of the project will remain out of the project. We made our choices and work in one direction all together”.