The never-ending story that is Victor Osimhen’s final destination this summer has neared completion with a breakthrough in negotiations between Napoli and Galatasaray.
The Turkish champions have reportedly agreed to one of the key terms proposed by Osimhen’s parent club: a clause that bars a resale to a Serie A club for two years.
With this hurdle crossed, Galatasaray are now set to offer a bank guarantee for payments of €35 million upfront and another €35 million in two installments.
Why did Napoli insist on ‘no Serie A transfer’ clause for Victor Osimhen sale?
The deal to take Osimhen to Galatasaray permanently, following a highly successful loan spell, would be the most expensive in the history of Turkish football.
This led to scepticism about the club’s ability to meet their financial obligations, especially against the backdrop of the notoriety of Turkish clubs, which Afrik-Foot has previously reported on.
Matteo Moretto: "Taraflar arasındaki görüşmeler olumlu ilerliyor.
Galatasaray ve Napoli, Osimhen'in 2 yıl İtalya'ya dönmeyeceğine dair anlaştı. Napoli 3 istedi, Galatasaray 2 yıl dedi ve kabul edildi.
İki kulüp hâlâ 'gelecekteki satış yüzdesi' üzerine pazarlık yapıyor." pic.twitter.com/8dy0h6QA17
— Forza Cimbom (@forzacimbomtr) July 17, 2025
As such, there was some suggestion that Juventus, who are interested in the 2023 Serie A capocannoniere but have been unable to reach an agreement with Napoli, were willing to front Galatasaray part of the money in exchange for buying Osimhen later on at a knockdown price.
Has such a transfer happened before?
Yes. In 2016, Werder Bremen signed Arsenal’s Serge Gnabry for €5 million, and put in a €8 million release clause in his contract. A year later, Bayern Munich triggered the clause, then loaned the winger out to Hoffenheim for a season. From 2018, he was a full-fledged Bayern player, and went on to help the club win not only multiple Bundesliga titles, but also the Champions League in 2020.
It would later emerge that Bayern, knowing that approaching Arsenal directly would lead to them being quoted an exorbitant price, engineered the move to Bremen with a view to getting Gnabry on the cheap.
Why are Napoli reluctant to sell Victor Osimhen to a Serie A club?
Simply put, Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis is not keen to strengthen a rival.
Beyond that, even if he were willing to deal with a fellow Serie A club, there is scar tissue from the acrimonious deal that took Gonzalo Higuain to Juventus back in 2016.
Considering that, as well as the rivalry between the two clubs, it is easy enough to see why Napoli would prefer to sell Osimhen abroad if possible.
