De Laurentiis: ‘Osimhen has agreed to renew his deal for two years’

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis says striker Victor Osimhen has agreed to extend his contract with the club by another two years. The Nigerian international is one of the most in-demand forwards in Europe at present, and speaking at the presentation of new coach Rudi Garcia, De Laurentiis took the opportunity to confirm that Napoli are keen to hold on to their star man:

“With Osimhen we have already talked before the Scudetto party and we agree on extending his contract for another two years. For other players we will have to see and study with Garcia as well. I am convinced that preparation in the summer training camp is fundamental. We refused to go to play the Gamper with Barcelona or to go to Manchester to take on United. From July 28 to August 12 we are working to bring playing international friendlies to Castel Di Sangro to avoid leaving. During that period we have to put gasoline inside the mechanisms, to last as long as possible.

“Contracts however are of little use, maybe for penalties, but I look people in the eye to see if the players want to be part of the glory of Napoli or not. I have to thank Spalletti for telling me he wanted a sabbatical, satiety can play a bad trick on you. The new coach must know how to play the strings of that violin by making it a Stradivarius. We cannot be satisfied. A new coach must bring a player back to the hard reality of daily work.”