Victor Osimhen misses Napoli’s first game under Conte
Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor James Osimhen, missed his club’s first pre-season game due to fitness issues, Soccernet.ng reports.
Napoli took on local Italian side, Anaune Val Di Non earlier today, in the mountains of Di Maro, with Italian manager, Antonio Conte, taking charge of his first session with the three-time Serie A champions.
However, Nigerian striker, Osimhen, didn’t feature in the club’s pre-season warm-up clash. Initially, he was named on the bench when the team lists were announced, but it in fact turned out he was in the stands.
A note from the club pointed out the striker has been working separately from the squad in training over the last few days due to fitness issues and was unavailable for Conte’s selection. The former Lille striker was also unable to complete training a few days ago, as he left with an ice pack strapped around his ankle.
In his absence, Conte’s men cruised to a 4-nil victory with Leonardo Spinazzola, Walid Cheddira, Gianluca Gaetano and Cyril Ngonge getting on the scoresheet.
FT: #Napoli 4-0 Anaune
⚽️Spinazzola, Cheddira, Gaetano and Ngonge.
Who impressed you the most? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/fPGxDbHXRV
— Napoli Zone (@TheNapoliZone) July 16, 2024
Conte set his team up in his famous 3-4-2-1 formation, starting new signings Rafa Marin and Leonardo Spinazzola, with Jesper Lindstrom and Matteo Politano supporting Giovanni Simeone. The former Inter Milan manager has been reported to be keen on bringing Romelu Lukaku to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.
Osimhen has been linked with a move away from Napoli in recent weeks, but no concrete offer has been tabled so far.
Adefolahan Guerreiro
Adefolahan is a multilingual journalist and writer at Soccernet Nigeria.
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