Florent Malouda won the Premier League at Chelsea. He knows what that competition demands. And his verdict on Victor Osimhen is clear: the Super Eagles striker is ready for it, and should stop waiting.
Former Chelsea winger Florent Malouda has made a direct case for Victor Osimhen to take his career to the Premier League, naming Chelsea and Liverpool as the two clubs best suited to bringing out his best qualities. Malouda, speaking to Football London, said Osimhen has done enough in Italy, France, and Turkey to prove himself. The Premier League is the one major test he has not yet taken.
The comments arrive at a time when Osimhen’s future is again being discussed widely. His Galatasaray contract runs to June 2029 and he has not indicated any desire to leave. But the conversation around where he goes next has never truly stopped since Napoli first tried to sell him to PSG in 2024.
What Malouda Actually Said
The former France international was measured but firm in his assessment. He did not hedge. He picked his clubs, explained his reasoning, and ruled out Manchester United in favour of two specific destinations.
“When you look at his mindset, his character, and his passion for the game, I think he belongs in the Premier League. Where would he fit? Each club has a different story, a different budget, contract conditions, and situations.”
“But I think that’s what’s missing in his career now. He’s done great in Italy, in France, and now in Turkey. I think his next step is the Premier League and the Champions League, where he can play in a team that can win it. I would say Chelsea, and maybe Liverpool, are the clubs that would suit him way better than Manchester United. He is very energetic, he’s a leader, he is the kind of player that the fans would love.”
Malouda won the Premier League title and three FA Cups during his time at Chelsea, giving him genuine insight into what type of player succeeds at the highest level of English football. His preference for Chelsea and Liverpool over Manchester United reflects a reading of both Osimhen’s style and the current state of those clubs. Super Eagles fans wanting to track the next chapter of Osimhen’s career can check the Bet9ja welcome bonus ahead of the summer window.
What Osimhen Has Done in Turkey
The case for Osimhen being ready for English football is built on his numbers in Istanbul. In the 2025/26 Super Lig season, he has scored 13 goals and added five assists in 21 league appearances, maintaining a FotMob rating of 7.6 despite missing weeks of football due to a forearm fracture that required surgery in March 2026.
His Champions League campaign has been even more impressive. Seven goals and three assists in 10 group and knockout stage appearances, including a hat-trick against Ajax that made him the first Nigerian to score a Champions League hat-trick since Yakubu in 2005. He returned from his forearm surgery on April 26 and scored in a 3-0 win over Fenerbahce, playing the full 90 minutes at the first opportunity. Across all competitions in 2025/26, he has passed the 20-goal mark. That is back-to-back 20-plus goal seasons at Galatasaray.
The Contract Question
The complication is straightforward. Osimhen signed a four-year contract at Galatasaray in July 2025, the deal that made him the most expensive transfer in Turkish football history at €75 million. That contract runs to June 2029. He is not a player available on a free transfer. He is not a player whose club needs to sell.
Galatasaray are currently seven points clear at the top of the Super Lig with three games remaining. They are on course for back-to-back titles. The club built their title challenge around Osimhen. Selling him this summer would require an extraordinary offer, and the player showing a genuine desire to move. Neither of those things has yet been confirmed. Fans following the summer transfer market can keep up with the odds and movement at bet9japromotioncode.com.ng.
Which Clubs Have Been Linked
Chelsea have been connected to Osimhen for several years. The link first emerged in 2023 when Napoli’s asking price was reported at over €100 million. Arsenal and Manchester United were also mentioned at various stages of that process.
The PSG link was perhaps the most credible alternative, but Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis publicly stated he blocked the move to PSG before Osimhen eventually moved to Galatasaray permanently. Any club that wants Osimhen in the summer of 2026 will need to convince Galatasaray, offer a fee that reflects a €75m player who has since improved, and convince the player that leaving Turkey is the right call with three years still on his deal. Those tracking how the Osimhen market shapes up can find the latest analysis at this Bet9ja bonus code page ahead of the window opening.
Why Malouda’s View Matters to Nigerian Fans
For Super Eagles supporters, the debate over Osimhen’s next club is about more than club football. A move to the Premier League would give Nigeria’s most important player a weekly platform on the world’s most watched league. His profile, already enormous, would grow further.
Osimhen is currently Nigeria’s second highest scorer of all time with 35 international goals, eight behind Rashidi Yekini’s all-time record of 37. He is 27 years old. The years that remain before the 2030 World Cup represent his best chance to become the most prolific Super Eagles striker in history, and doing so from the Premier League would make that story global in a way no Turkish league campaign can match. Whether Malouda’s advice reaches him or not, the argument he makes is one that Nigerian football has been quietly making for years.
📌 Did You Know?
- Victor Osimhen became the most expensive player in Turkish football history when Galatasaray signed him permanently from Napoli in July 2025 for a net fee of €75 million. The deal surpassed the previous Turkish record, set by Osimhen himself when Galatasaray had first taken him on loan a year earlier.
- Florent Malouda spent five seasons at Chelsea from 2007 to 2013, winning the Premier League, three FA Cups, and the UEFA Champions League in 2012. The Frenchman made 226 appearances for the club and scored 33 goals, establishing himself as one of the most effective wide players in the Premier League during that era.
- Osimhen scored a hat-trick against Ajax in the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League group stage, making him only the second Nigerian player to score a hat-trick in European club competition. Yakubu Aiyegbeni was the first, when he netted three times for Levante against Hearts in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup. Osimhen’s achievement came in the considerably more prestigious Champions League.
- Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis publicly revealed that he blocked a move for Osimhen to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2024, describing the offer as insufficient for a player of Osimhen’s calibre. That decision led directly to Osimhen’s loan at Galatasaray and ultimately his permanent move to Istanbul in 2025.
- Osimhen’s 26-goal Serie A season at Napoli in 2022/23 set a new record for the most goals scored by an African player in a single Serie A campaign, surpassing the previous best of 25 set by George Weah for AC Milan in 1995/96. He finished that season as Serie A top scorer and was awarded the Serie A Footballer of the Year award.
- Victor Osimhen won the Golden Boot at the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile, scoring 10 goals in seven matches as Nigeria lifted the trophy. That tournament also earned him the CAF Youth Player of the Year award. He remains the only player in history to win the U-17 World Cup Golden Boot and go on to become the record holder for most goals in a single Serie A season by an African player.
- Osimhen’s forearm fracture in March 2026 was his second major injury at Galatasaray. He had also required surgery during his loan spell in 2024/25. Both times, he returned to scoring form quickly. His ability to come back from surgery and immediately contribute at the highest level has become one of the defining characteristics of his career, reinforcing the mental resilience that Malouda specifically cited in his recommendation.
