With Victor Osimhen  transfer  away from Napoli imminent  in the summer,  the Serie A champions  has reportedly listed  his  Nigerian compatriot and Bayer Leverkusen  forward, Victor Boniface as a possible  replacement.

Boniface  who missed the  just concluded  Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)  2023 in Cote d’Ivoire  following an injury on the eve of the tournament,  is one of  Nigeria’s standout strikers  in the current  campaign in Europe  after notching an impressive  16 goals across  23 matches .

 

On Monday, several Italian news outlets  including Football Italia, claimed  the 23-year-old former  Union Saint-Gilloise  striker  is being listed  among several others as likely replacement for ‘want away’ Osimhen.

 

According to Football Italia, Napoli will almost certainly have to let  Osimhen leave in the summer though  the 25-year-old striker last Christmas  extended his stay  to June 2026 with a new contract which included €130m release clause.

 

Incidentally, Osimhen recently told the press that he’s already decided his next step and is now expected to push for a departure from Napoli at the end of the season with Paris Saint-Germain now been heavily linked  to the Nigerian forward a replacement for Kylian Mbappe.

 

Meanwhile, Andrea Ramazzotti of La Gazzetta dello Sport  believes  Napoli has  drawn a  list of possible  players as replacement  for  Osimhen with Bologna’s Joshua Zirkzee on the top of the shelf.

 

Others being mentioned  according  to Ramazzotti,  include Jonathan David  as well as Leverkusen’s Victor Boniface and Feyenoord’s Santiago Gimenez.

 

Meanwhile, Napoli  has  reportedly  dismissed head coach, Walter Mazzarri and brought in Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona on a short-term contract.

 

As detailed by Gianluca Di Marzio, Napoli have communicated their decision to dismiss coach Mazzarri and are now ready to welcome Calzona, who will sign a six-month deal and lead the squad until the end of the season.

 

Calzona, who is also the manager of the Slovakia national team, will retain his role and lead the country at the European Championship in the summer.

 

Calzona will take over the Napoli training today (20th February), ahead of their Champions League clash with Barcelona the day after.

 

Credit: thenationonlineng.net