The 21-year old sealed a five-year deal believed to be worth up to €80 million from Lille and will be expected to deliver, having netted 18 competitive strikes last term in France.
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Suarez’s future at Camp Nou is currently up in the air as he is reportedly not keen to continue at the club and new Blaugrana boss Ronald Koeman does not want him.
“I usually never talk about these things, out of respect for professionalism and the club. It is right that Napoli say things as they went, they are the main players,” Calenda told Radio Marte.
“[It was a] difficult operation, Tottenham and Liverpool wanted Osimhen until the end, even Barcelona initially wanted him instead of Suarez. Napoli, however, did everything. They wanted it and took it.”
However, Ghanabet understands Barcelona was only tracking the progress of Osimhen, and he was never a real target to make a bid.
Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso had previously stated that Osimhen needs time to gel with his team as he is not a Maradona kind of signing and these same thoughts were reflected by Calenda.
“The coach’s [Gattuso] words are right: you have to wait and give him time because he comes from far away, he must adapt to our championship and our customs. But without a shadow of a doubt, he has great talent and I am sure he will prove it because he has some important characteristics.”