Sports

Champions League: Napoli rule out Osimhen, Ghoulam from squad

Published

4 years ago

August 5, 2020

Napoli have named Kalidou Koulibaly in their squad for the final stages of the 2019-20 Champions League while there is no place for new recruit Victor Osimhen and Algerian defender Faouzi Ghoulam.

The Parthenopeans will take on Spanish giants Barcelona in the round of 16 of the tournament in a one-legged tie on August 8.

According to the list announced by Uefa, Senegal international Koulibaly is the only African star who made the club’s 23-man squad..

Napoli will also not be able to bank on the services of their new signing Osimhen, with the Nigeria international having featured in the group stage of the competition for Lille.

The forward completed a €50 million transfer from the French side last month following his eye-catching performances during his time with the club.

Osimhen bagged 18 goals and provided six assists in 38 appearances across all competitions before leaving Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

The forward made his Champions League debut against Ajax in September 2019 and scored two goals in five appearances as Lille failed to progress past the group stage.

The 21-year-old striker will be expected to make his first appearance for the Parthenopeans during their pre-season games.

Osimhen is a key member of the Nigerian national team and was part of the side that finished third at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt.

The forward currently has four goals in nine games for the West Africans and will be expected to play a prominent role in the Super Eagles World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.