Artem Dovbyk started to become a well-known face from last summer. The Ukrainian arrived in LaLiga at the age of 26, when Girona paid 7.75 million euros to sign him. He came from the anonymous Dnipro-1. A season later, he has been crowned top scorer of the Spanish tournament with 24 goals in 36 games, but he may not celebrate them at Montilivi next season.
One of the great protagonists of this transfer market will be striker Victor Osimhen, who will leave Napoli at the end of the season. The Nigerian, one of the top scorers in Serie A this season with 15 goals, has many suitors. De Laurentiis wants to sell him to the highest bidder and knows that he can get a lot of money for him.
Under contract until 2026, he has a release clause of 130 million euros. De Laurentiis was asking PSG 200 million just a year ago and with the departure of Kylian Mbappé, the Parisians are the best placed to sign him. So, a good replacement would have to be found for him at the Diego Maradona, and this is where the name of LaLiga’s top scorer comes in: Artem Dovbyk.
Dovbyk’s release clause
The 26-year-old Ukrainian has been one of the great revelations of the tournament and Girona’s main offensive reference point. Obviously, the Catalan team is not willing to lose their ‘goal scorer’ after just one season and that is why they will activate his release clause: 40 million euros. They will not negotiate for him.
Therefore, and as it is an amount more than feasible for a club that will receive a lot of money for Osimhen, Napoli will try to sign him, although there are other teams behind the Ukrainian, such as Atlético de Madrid, among many others. However, the team from the transalpine country could look for another replacement for the Nigerian, one of Antonio Conte’s favorites.
Can Lukaku ‘save’ Girona?
De Laurentiis wants to hand over the keys to the project to the experienced Italian coach, without a team since 2023, and has a clear priority for the attack if Victor Osimhen leaves: Romelu Lukaku.
At one point, it was rumored that the player owned by Chelsea (he was on loan to Roma this season) could be included in a swap deal for Osimhen plus money, but the information has been denied in recent hours and in London they want to receive the Belgian’s release clause of 38 million pounds.
Taking all this into account, and that they are very similar profiles, the most likely thing is that Napoli will decide to sign Artem Dovbyk. The Ukrainian is younger, comes much more plugged in and would be cheaper than Romelu Lukaku.
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