Ibrahim Hatipoğlu, vice-president of Galatasaray, insists Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen won’t leave the club in January after reports suggest Juventus and Chelsea are interested in the former Napoli ace.
Osimhen joined Galatasaray on a dry loan deal until the end of the season and has provided two assists in two league games, including one against José Mourinho’s Fenerbahce on Saturday.
Galatasaray will pay Osimhen €6m during the 2024-25 campaign, and the player’s release clause at Napoli has been lowered to €75m from €130m. The Nigeria international signed a one-year contract extension with the Partenopei before joining Galatasaray earlier this month.
His convincing start to the season at Galatasaray has fuelled transfer speculation that the striker could already leave Gala in the January transfer window, but the club’s vice-president, İbrahim Hatipoğlu, thinks otherwise.
“Osimhen leaving in January is out of the question. In fact, we are planning to have Osimhen play next season,” the club director told Turkish media, as quoted by Gazeteoksijen. “Osimhen is a Galatasaray player until June.
Discussing this is an attempt to change the agenda and spoil the fun of watching Osimhen. The player shows how committed he is to Galatasaray in every match. A person plays where he is happy. He has a contract with us until the end of the season. He is very happy to have come to Galatasaray.
We should think about how he will be together with Osimhen in the following seasons. There is no need to discuss whether he will leave during the mid-season break.”
