Why Victor Osimhen rejected Chelsea transfer despite Napoli limbo as paltry wage offer is revealed

Osimhen wound up staying at Napoli on transfer deadline day, even though he may not play for the club again. Sky Sport Italia has reported a complicated situation where he had an agreement with Al-Ahli and Chelsea had agreed a transfer fee with Napoli. But Al-Ahli didn't have an agreement over the fee and Osimhen wasn't satisfied with the personal terms Chelsea offered.

The contract that Osimhen was prepared to accept from Al-Ahli was worth a reported €40 million (£33.7m/$44.3m) per season for four years. The proposed deal also came with a release clause. But Napoli wanted €85m (£71.6m/$94m) and Al-Ahli stopped €5m short, eventually turning to the significantly cheaper Ivan Toney instead. Chelsea are said to have had an understanding with Napoli, yet their lowball offer to Osimhen didn't tempt the striker. It was said to be €4m as an initial annual salary, 10% of Al-Ahli's proposal, but doubled if the Blues were to qualify for next season's Champions League. Even that inflated amount is still less than his current Napoli contract pays.

Osimhen's agent had recently suggested that his client was not looking to move to Saudi Arabia, favouring a stay in Europe. But without the acceptable options on the table to do that, it seems as though the player was prepared to head to the Middle East until talks between the clubs broke down.

With his relationship with Napoli described as "completely broken", Osimhen's career has unexpectedly hit a wall. A move to another European club is off the table until January, which means he may have to hope for hasty interest from another club in Saudi Arabia, where the transfer window is open until September 2.