Manna: ‘Napoli want quick Osimhen solution, new deal for Olivera’

Napoli director Giovanni Manna confirms Victor Osimhen has a release clause and they want to ‘find a solution as quickly as possible,’ while Matias Olivera agrees a new contract and Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa is a ‘different situation.’

The Partenopei are preparing for this weekend’s Scudetto showdown with Inter, but director of sport Manna is also looking to the future and their transfer strategy in what would be Antonio Conte’s second campaign.

Among the biggest discussions is Osimhen, who is currently on loan at Galatasaray, but widely expected to be sold in the summer towards the Premier League.

“Victor is always going to be a hotly-debated topic and not just on the transfer market,” Manna told Sky Sport Italia.

“He is an appetising player for clubs, he has a clause and everyone knows this, we are working to find a solution as quickly as possible, so that we can avoid what happened last year.”

The plan when Osimhen signed a lucrative new contract was for him to be sold in the summer of 2024, but as none of the offers came close to the €110m release clause, he was left in the lurch and joined Galatasaray on loan instead.

The release clause continues to fall for Osimhen and is expected to be closer to €75m by the end of this season.

Napoli already had to sell Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in January to Paris Saint-Germain, having delayed his exit for six months.

“There are certainly regrets, as it is never easy to lose an important player mid-season,” added Manna.

“We talked about it a lot, but in my view the situation was also twisted. What it leaves me with is the intention to always be ready to deal with things we cannot control, but we are certain that we did the right thing there.”

Napoli are in negotiations to extend the contracts of several other key players.

“Olivera has agreed a deal, we just need to announce it, while we are talking to Alex Meret. It is a different situation for Anguissa, there’s no rush and we can discuss it calmly. We are planning to get everything done in the best possible timeframe.”