Former Barcelona striker, Gary Lineker, has revealed that concerns over Victor Osimhen’s character reportedly led some of Europe’s top clubs to back out of signing the Super Eagles forward.
Osimhen, who recently secured a four-year deal with Turkish giants worth €75 million, was previously one of the hottest targets in the transfer market.
Clubs such as Chelsea, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, and others had all shown strong interest in landing the Nigerian international.
But according to Lineker, that interest may have cooled due to off-pitch concerns.
Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, the former England striker shared insights into why some teams may have hesitated.
“I saw Osimhen play a couple of times against Leicester when they were in the Europa League,” Lineker said.
“He was so impressive and I’ve followed his career because of that. He was absolutely brilliant for Napoli. I mean, he was sensational.
“I do hear on the grapevine that a reason one or two of the clubs are a little bit nervous is that he sometimes goes missing for a few days. So, there’s apparently some kind of slight question mark as to his character in that sense,” he added.
Despite the speculation, Osimhen remains one of Africa’s top football talents, having established himself as a prolific striker in Europe.
