Former Italian defender, Giandomenico Costi, has revealed the desperate measures used by Napoli to enable them sign Victor Osimhen in the summer of 2020 from Ligue 1 side Lille – including locking him up in a hotel for three days.

Osimhen was one of the most sought after strikers in Europe in the summer of 2020 after his impressive 2019/20 campaign for Lille with clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester United, Tottenham etc vying for his signature.

Napoli ended up securing his services for an African record €81.3m, however, the signing was made possible after the Italians did their best to ensure that their closest chasers didn’t have access to the player for three days locking the Nigerian in an hotel room, an act that was orchestrated by Napoli’s sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli.

Speaking of how Napoli was able to pull off the Osimhen transfer, Giandomenico Costi who worked at the club until June 2021 said Giuntoli’s resilience was how he won the heart of the Nigerian.

“The signing of Osimhen is Giuntoli’s biggest masterpiece,” Costi told Tuttosport newspaper per footballItalia.

“Osimhen was locked in a hotel for three days. Giuntoli knew Liverpool were interested, and Jurgen Klopp had made his move, but Cristiano spoke to Osimhen in the hotel for three days until he convinced him to accept Napoli.

“He was full of energy. Giuntoli is a director who would call you 100 times a day. He knew Victor very well, he had even followed him at Charleroi.”

Just like the summer of 2020, Osimhen has even become a hot commodity as clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain are vying for his signature.