Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has reportedly reached an agreement in principle over a new contract with the Italian champions.
The Nigeria international has not signed a single extension since arriving in Naples from Lille in 2020, and his current terms are due to expire at the end of next season.
Osimhen's uncertain contract situation and remarkable goalscoring feats in Serie A have led to suggestions that the 24-year-old could be on the move in 2024, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all heavily linked with a swoop.
Next summer's transfer window could have proven to be Napoli's last chance to garner a high fee for Osimhen, whose future has been a major talking point since the season began owing to incidents both on and off the field.
Club president Aurelio de Laurentiis hinted in October that he would not be against selling Osimhen in 2024 if the marksman refused to commit to a new deal, forcing the club to deny that their relationship with the Nigerian was "frosty".
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However, having made a breakthrough in talks over a new contract - which was initially discussed in the summer before discussions hit a brick wall - De Laurentiis claimed earlier this month that Osimhen was set to put pen to paper.
Now, journalist Fabrizio Romano reports that Napoli and Osimhen have come to an agreement in principle over a renewal, which will make the 24-year-old one of the Partenopei's highest-paid players of all time.
Osimhen's new terms will only increase his stay for another year until the summer of 2026, though, and Napoli have set a release clause of €130m (£111.7m), which will become active in 2024.
As such, the attacker's new deal will ensure that Napoli will receive significant compensation should he end up seeking pastures new next year, as his release clause is unlikely to deter Europe's financial powerhouses.
Osimhen was one of the hottest properties on the market over the summer after leading Napoli to the Serie A title with 26 goals from 32 games in 2022-23, winning the Capocannoniere in the process.
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The ex-Lille man won the Serie A Player of the Year and African Footballer of the Year while finishing eighth in the Ballon d'Or vote - the highest position of any player in the Italian top flight.
Osimhen also has a respectable seven goals and two assists to show from 15 games in a Napoli shirt this term, netting his most recent strike against Braga on Tuesday as Walter Mazzarri's men progressed to the last 16 of the Champions League.
However, during Rudi Garcia's ill-fated reign, Osimhen was the subject of two inexplicable TikTok posts from the official Napoli account, one of which compared him to a coconut while the other mocked his penalty miss against Bologna in September.
Napoli were threatened with legal action by the agent of Osimhen, and the scandal added fuel to the fire surrounding a possible exit for the Nigerian, but he played down such talk a couple of months ago.
The Nigeria international boasts a total of 66 goals and 16 assists in 116 matches for Napoli, who forked out €75m (£64.4m) to poach him from Lille three seasons ago.
Ben Knapton
