Liverpool have reportedly joined the race for Victor Osimhen’s highly coveted signature.
European giants are on high alert for the red-hot Napoli star after his public fallout with the club last month – when the Serie A outfit’s social media team appeared to mock him for missing a penalty against Bologna.
Jurgen Klopp sent one of his scouts to watch him in action on international duty, according to The Sun.
Osimhen played 60 minutes of Nigeria’s friendly with Saudi Arabia in Portugal before a hamstring injury forced him off. He did not play in their next friendly against Mozambique.
It means Liverpool join the list of clubs with a serious interest in the 24-year-old alongside Premier League rivals Arsenal and Chelsea.
Liverpool are reportedly keen on Napoli star Victor Osimhen and sent a scout to observe him on international duty with Nigeria
The Sun claim that Jurgen Klopp sent one of his scouts to watch Victor Osimhen over the international break
Osimhen’s future at Napoli was thrown into doubt last month when the club released two controversial TikTok videos appearing to mock him.
The first seemingly mocked him for missing a penalty and the second labelled him a ‘coconut’ in what has been widely condemned as a racial slur. Both videos were promptly deleted.
In the wake of the scandal, his agent suggested they could take legal action, Osimhen demanded a public apology and removed all but one of his Instagram posts with a Napoli shirt, and the social media executive responsible resigned.
Napoli did not publicly apologise following the outrage and insisted that they ‘never wanted to mock’ their talisman.
Their first post showed Osimhen appealing for a penalty with the caption ‘Gimme penalty please’ before showing him blazing a spot-kick wide against Bologna. The second video referred to him as a ‘coconut’.
Subsequently, the forward called for unity and thanked fans for their support and kindness, saying he was ‘forever grateful’ to them, but the controversy put his suitors on high alert.
He was reportedly already irritated that the club stopped him from filming a charity video for Africa, according to La Gazzetta Dello Sport, and he refused to celebrate against Udinese in the next match.
