Roma manager Jose Mourinho has compared Napoli’s Victor Osimhen to iconic former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, but warned the Nigerian his current style of play will not work in the Premier League.
24-year-old Osimhen has established himself as one of Europe’s deadliest marksmen this season with 14 goals in 16 games for the Serie A leaders, including a glorious strike to open Sunday’s 2-1 win over Roma.
90min revealed in October Chelsea are interested in signing Osimhen at the end of the season, while Manchester United continue to be heavily linked with the former Lille forward.
After the game, Mourinho admitted he would not hesitate to spend big money on Osimhen but warned the Napoli striker that an alleged penchant for diving would prove to be seriously problematic if he moved to England.
“He is of the same level as Drogba, but Didier didn’t dive.” Mourinho said. “If Victor changes, then OK. I’d buy him if I was at a club with a lot of money. However, if he does go to England one day, he needs to change, because in Italy they put up with this sort of behaviour, whereas in the Premier League, they’d come down hard on him.”
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Mourinho also confessed he had told Osimhen about his concerns directly after the match.
“I told him that he scored a wonderful goal and needs to stop diving so much. His goal was fantastic, he did the same thing when we met earlier this season, so he’s a fantastic player. But he mustn’t dive.”
Osimhen remains under contract in Naples until 2025 but the Partenopei’s determination to keep hold of their star striker is expected to be tested this summer, with Chelsea and United among the sides keen to strike a deal.
Fellow Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is also attracting significant interest from across Europe. Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Newcastle are all known to be interested in the Georgia international, whose price tag is significantly higher than the £50m which was reported elsewhere in December.
