Galatasaray tells Chelsea Osimhen is not for sale this summer as he visits Tinubu in Aso Rock

GALATASARY have warned English Premier League giants Chelsea that they have no plans to sell Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen to them during the forthcoming summer transfer window.

In the summer of 2024, a bitter battle raged to sign Osimhen, with Chelsea, Arsenal and PSG all involved in the race to get his signature. Chelsea emerged as the clear favourite to sign him after reaching an agreement with his then Italian side Napoli but the club was unable to agree personal terms with the player, leading to the deal collapsing at the last minute.

Osimhen subsequently signed on loan for Turkish giants Galatasaray. Then, in January 2025, Chelsea sent former Super Eagles skipper Mikel Obi to Naples to see if he could seal a deal for Osimhen but when the two sides could not reach an agreement, he striker ended up signing a permanent deal with Galatasaray.

However, since moving to Turkey, Osimhen, 27 has been in red hot form for both club and country, scoring hat tricks with frightening regularity. This has prompted Chelsea to rekindle their long-standing pursuit of the striker, with Spanish giants Barcelona also said to be interested in signing him.

Earlier today, however, Galatasaray president Dursun Özbek declared that the Turkish champions have no plans to sell Osimhen this summer. Osimhen had an outstanding 2024/25 campaign with Galatasaray, where he helped the Istanbul side win both the Turkish Super Lig title and the domestic cup.

Napoli had originally demanded €75m for the Super Eagles forward, a figure considered extraordinary as n Turkish club had previously spent even €20m on a single player. However, Galatasaray met the asking price, with payments structured in instalments, with Mr Özbek personally contributing significantly to complete what became the biggest signing in Turkish football history.

That gamble has already brought rewards as Osimhen played a major role as Galatasaray reached the knockout stages of the Uefa Champions League and secured a fourth straight league title. His goals, movement and aggressive pressing quickly turned him into a fans favourite in Istanbul.

Now, however, Europe’s elite are circling again. Clubs from England, Spain, Italy and France are monitoring the striker but Galatasaray’s president insists the club’s future is being built around Osimhen.

Mr Özbek said: “We initially signed Victor Osimhen on loan and he performed magnificently. He loves Galatasaray and Türkiye very much and said he would stay at Galatasaray and we started talking in Napoli.

“He had a €75m release clause and we started the transfer process accordingly. I've never seen anything like that before. They used the general manager of UniCredit, who is a partner with Koç, as their guide."

Chelsea are currently seen as the leading English Premier League side in the race to sign Osimhen with Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United also monitoring the situation. In Spain, both Real Madrid and Barcelona admire Osimhen, while Atlético Madrid reportedly view him as an ideal fit for Diego Simeone’s system.

Interest also exists from Juventus, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain. Earlier today, Osimhen paid President Bola Tinubu a visit in Aso Rock, where he was received by the president and his wife.