As Napoli loanee and Galatasaray star Victor Osimhen enters the final weeks of his very successful spell in the Turkish league, many top clubs across Europe including Juventus are already gearing up to secure the Nigerian hitman’s signature.
These interests, however, has prompted a strong response from Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis declaring “Never at Juventus.’ The Napoli bigwig was responding to a question about the future of the striker on Radio Kiss Kiss via Calciomercato, effectively ruling out Osimhen’s potential transfer to the Allianz Stadium.
Osimhen swapped Napoli for Rams Park in September after the club failed to sell him due to a stratospheric price tag. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old had already bid farewell to the Stadio Diego Maradona faithful at the end of last season.
Since his career at Napoli has reached a point of no return, Osimhen will seek a new destination this summer. There’s no shortage of interest in the ex-Lille centre-forward after he tallied an eye-catching 29 goals and six assists across 33 competitive appearances for Galatasaray.
There is one club that is highly unlikely to sign the Nigerian striker, going by De Laurentiis response in that radio interview, and that is Juventus.
Juventus is undoubtedly Napoli’s fiercest rival in Italian football, fuelled by cultural, regional, and competitive divides. Napoli, representing the south of Italy, often sees Juventus, the northern powerhouse from Turin, as a symbol of northern dominance. This rivalry dates back decades, intensified by Juventus’ record 36 Serie A titles compared to Napoli’s three, with fans and clubs viewing each other as arch-enemies.
Selling a star player like Osimhen, who led Napoli to their 2022/23 Scudetto, to Juventus would be seen as a betrayal by Napoli’s passionate fanbase. The move would likely provoke significant backlash, as it would strengthen their fiercest rival while weakening Napoli.
Napoli is yet to recover from the controversial transfer of Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus in 2016. Higuain, Napoli’s star striker, was sold to Juventus for €90 million after scoring a record-breaking 36 goals in the 2015/16 Serie A season. The move was seen as a betrayal by Napoli fans, as Higuain joined their hated rivals at the peak of his career.
The Higuain transfer deepened the animosity between the clubs and left a lasting scar on Napoli’s fanbase. It also set a precedent that Napoli’s leadership, particularly De Laurentiis, is keen to avoid repeating. Selling another talismanic striker like Osimhen to Juventus would reopen old wounds and risk alienating fans further.
Beyond sentiment, selling Osimhen to Juventus would directly bolster a domestic competitor. Osimhen’s prolific form (29 goals and six assists in 33 appearances for Galatasaray in 2024/25) makes him a game-changer, and Napoli would prefer to see him move abroad rather than enhance Juventus’ squad.
Napoli aims to use Osimhen’s sale to fund squad reinforcements under Antonio Conte. De Laurentiis would rather sell to a Premier League club (e.g., Manchester United, Chelsea, or Arsenal) or another foreign team willing to pay the €75 million release clause, maximizing profit without strengthening a Serie A rival.
Osimhen’s Preference: Osimhen himself has reportedly turned down Juventus in favour of a move to a Premier League club, aligning with Napoli’s preference to avoid a domestic transfer.
