Victor Osimhen opens up on joining Galatasaray on loan

Despite Chelsea's attempts to capture the striker on the day of the transfer deadline, Victor Osimhen says it proved to be a "very easy decision" to work with Galatasaray after learning of their interest in him. For the duration of this season, Osimhen, 25, has been sent on loan from Napoli to the Turkish squad. Additionally, the Italian team has acknowledged that they have a retainer option with the player in order to extend their contract until 2027.

A new agreement would allegedly also lower Victor Osimhen’s €130 million (£110 million) release clause down to €75 million (£63 million). That is about the same as the €80 million (£67 million) bid that Al Ahli, a Saudi Pro League team, reportedly made to Napoli. In an interview with Galatasaray TV, Osimhen revealed that, "When I heard of the interest from Galatasaray, it was a very easy decision for me."

The former Lille striker added, “I knew how big Galatasaray was and how much like a family it was, and it had incredible fans. "Henry (Onyekuru) is my friend and he played for Galatasaray before and is still a fan. He told me how wonderful the people here are, so it was an easy decision for me."

“He is improving as a player” : Victor Osimhen on Dries Mertens

Victor Osimhen spoke about being a teammate alongside Dries Mertens once again. The duo were great friends during their time at Napoli and are hopeful that their chemistry can do wonders for Galatasaray as well. 

The Nigerian striker added, "It's really amazing. I also spoke with him. He supported me a lot when I first went to Italy; he was like a brother to me. He was always by my side. He is a name I respect very much. Of course, I will be a teammate with him again here too. I'm very excited about it. I was already watching the Galatasaray matches, how Mertens has been playing since he came here, how he is improving as a person, how he is improving as a player, I wanted to follow this."