French Ligue 1
LILE PUT £72m PRICE TAG ON VICTOR OSIMHEN
Nigeria’s potent hit man, Victor Osimhen is the latest commodity in the European football transfer market as Lille owner, Gerard Lopez has put a minimum £72 million price tag on him.
According to Daily Mail and quoting the club owner, it must be nothing except something in the same valuation of what Arsenal paid for Nicolas Pepe last summer to land him.
Interestingly, 2019 Africa Cup of Nations’ bronze medal winner with Super Eagles of Nigeria last summer in Egypt was the direct replacement of Pepe before he left for England.
The 21-year-old Osimhen, who is described by club staff as the ‘Rubix’s cube’ of the side because he is so difficult to figure out on the pitch, has been the best in the team this season scoring 18 goals in his debut campaign in Ligue 1 after joining from Belgian Pro League side, Sporting Charleroi.
It was gathered that teams like Tottenham and Arsenal are rivalling Liverpool just as the El Classico giants, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid had indicated interest in the former Golden Eaglet star player.
Lopez said he’s been inundated with offers for his prized asset but he will not be forced to cash in on a cut-price deal amid the coronavirus crisis.
“There are multiple offers,’ he told Sportsmail. “We turned down one English and one Spanish offer this January transfer window.
“There is a wide array (this summer) and I wouldn’t want to give the names of the clubs who are bidding but what I can tell you is that there are multiple (offers). There are three championships that have clubs that have bid for him.’
It will be recalled that Osimhen joined the club for a five-year deal for a fee around £10m last summer and the club are now looking at the possibility of making a huge profit 12 months on if he does leave for England, Spain or Italy.
“I am not being a sales guy because last year people didn’t believe that we had the offers we had with (Nicolas) Pepe and it turns out we had multiple of them.
“Let me tell you with Osimhen, it is the same thing, whatever number you heard, the high number I have read is very much on the money of the offers that we have received. That’s where we are,” he pointed out.
Pepe was the major exit last summer joining Unai Emery’s Arsenal for a club-record fee— a move the Spanish boss recently revealed he was not behind – and that opened the spot for Osimhen to spearhead the attack.
His £72m sale to Arsenal was key in them raising £128m from player sales last summer. In the last three years, the club have made £219m from players, spending £149m on incomings.
Lopez revealed it is not just Osimhen that has clubs jockeying to earn his signature right now. The club’s production line, which has seen Eden Hazard, Yohan Cabaye, Franck Ribery and Divock Origi come through, is also demanding sizeable fees for players.
“If we were to activate for every single player we have received an offer for, I am going through my mind right now, we would sell nine players out of the starting XI, a further six players that are usually non-starters and a further two players from the youth team,’ Lopez, who has spent the pandemic creating PPE kit StoBox, explained.
“So, if I was to take offers from everyone else, I would be selling 17 players this summer. It would be absolutely nuts.’
Paul Pogba has joined AS Monaco on a free transfer after signing a two-year contract, the Ligue 1 club said on Saturday, as the 32-year-old French midfielder looks to revive his career following a doping ban.
Pogba was handed a four-year doping ban in February 2024 after testing positive for DHEA, which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after a successful appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Italian club Juventus announced in November that they had mutually agreed to terminate his contract, which was due to expire in June 2026.
The 2018 World Cup winner had a disappointing second spell with Juventus due to injuries after returning to the Turin-based club following his departure from Manchester United on a free transfer in 2022.
Pogba was signed by United in 2016 for a then-world record fee of 89 million pounds ($122 million) but the four-times Serie A champion won only two trophies with the Premier League club — the League Cup and Europa League in his first season.
He last played for France in 2022 but knee surgery prevented him from appearing at the World Cup in Qatar.
Monaco finished third behind Ligue 1 champions Paris St Germain and Olympique de Marseille last season.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
After Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi signed a contract extension with French Ligue 1 side, Paris Saint-Germain, he became the World’s most-paid fullback.
The Moroccan international will earn a staggering €70 million in wages over his new five-year deal, cementing his status as football’s highest-paid defender.
He signed a contract extension with the French champions until 2029. The new deal adds three years to his previous contract, which was set to expire in 2026.
His net salary is increasing from €10 million to €14 million per season (€28 million gross).
Follow the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
The 2024 Ballon d’Or nominee and Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, is almost certain to leave the Serie A in the coming winter transfer window following interest from Premiership but the biggest interest is from Paris Saint Germaine.
The AFCON 2024 silver medal winner with Nigeria has been on the radar of the London side, West Ham United and three other sides from the league but all is more certain that the London club will find it difficult to compete for the signature of Atalanta star according to Football Insider.
Reports have suggested that the Irons are ready to swoop for the Nigeria international in the January transfer window.
However, sources say there will be “huge interest” from Europe in the 27-year-old ex-Everton star.
Paris Saint-Germain will be the frontrunner for the forward if he becomes available in the coming months.
Additionally, Lookman plays in the same area of the pitch as West Ham’s big-money summer signings Crysencio Summerville and Luis Guilherme.
The London-born has raised his stock with his displays for Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022.
He finished 14th in the Ballon d’Or rankings this year after leading the Italian side to a Europa League title last term.
Lookman has already hit five goals and contributed five assists in 10 games across all competitions this term.
The forward, who is under contract until June 2026, hit 17 goals and notched 10 assists in 45 appearances last season.
West Ham are unlikely to have serious funds to spend in the January window after their lavish spending in the off-season.
Julen Lopetegui’s side started slowly and sat 13th in the Premier League after nine games.
- OBITUARY2 days ago
BREAKING: Nigerian Goalkeeping Legend Peter Rufai is dead
- Nigerian Football2 days ago
Football Agent John Shittu Demands Retraction and ₦250 Million Damages from Samson Siasia Over Bribery Allegation
- WAFCON1 week ago
Super Falcons Land in Morocco, Eye Historic ‘La Decima’ Women’s AFCON Title
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Kwara United Clinch Historic First Title as President Federation Cup Final Goes to Penalties for the 18th time
- FEDERATION CUP1 week ago
Rivers Angels Crowned 2025 Female Federation Cup Champions After Penalty Shootout Thriller
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Peter Rufai looked lean when I last saw him, says mourning NFF President, Gusau
- OBITUARY2 days ago
Family issues statement on Peter Rufai
- IMMEMORIAL1 day ago
Peter Rufai’s Death Adds to Long List of July Tragedies in Nigerian Football