Lille have already received multiple offers for striker Victor Osimhen this summer but it will take a fee close to the £72 million (N34 billion) Arsenal paid for Nicolas Pepe last summer to land him, the club owner Gerard Lopez has insisted.
The 21-year-old, who is described by club staff as the “Rubix’s cube” of the side because he is so difficult to figure out on the pitch, has been the star performer for the club this season, netting 18 goals in his debut campaign in Ligue 1 after joining from Belgian Pro League side Sporting Charleroi.
With interest from Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal as well as teams in Spain and Italy, Lopez expects to be inundated with offers for his prized asset – but he will not be forced to cash in on a cut-price deal amid the coronavirus crisis.
“There are multiple offers,” he told Sportsmail. “We turned down one English and one Spanish offer this January transfer window.
“There is a wide array [this summer] and I wouldn’t want to give the names of the clubs who are bidding but what I can tell you is that there are multiple [offers]. There are three championships that have clubs that have bid for him.”
Osimhen joined the club for around £10 million last summer and signed a five-year deal and the club are now looking at the possibility of making a huge profit 12 months on if he does leave for England, Spain or Italy.
“I am not being a sales guy because last year people didn’t believe that we had the offers we had with [Nicolas] Pepe and it turns out we had multiple of them,” Lopez said.
“Let me tell you with Osimhen, it is the same thing, whatever number you heard, the high number I have read is very much on the money of the offers that we have received. That’s where we are.”
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