Arsenal looking to beat Chelsea to Victor Osimhen transfer

Arsenal are plotting a big money move for Victor Osimhen and want to ‘steal’ the Napoli striker from Chelsea this summer, according to a report from Fichajes.

Mikel Arteta is desperate to sign a world class finisher in the summer and the report says Osimhen is one of Arsenal’s prime targets. Premier League rivals Chelsea have also been strongly linked with the Nigerian and many feel they are the favourites to sign Osimhen.

However, Fichajes says Arsenal want to ‘steal’ the Napoli hitman from Chelsea and the Gunners are closing monitoring Osimhen ahead of a potential summer swoop.

The 25-year-old Nigerian international has established himself as one of the best attackers in world football and he helped Napoli win the league title last season. He has eight goals and three assists this season.

Arsenal are also weighing up a potential move for the Brentford striker Ivan Toney, but Osimhen has the experience of competing at the highest level having won the Serie A title and boasts a terrific record in the Champions League.

Arsenal need record fee for Osimhen

The report says Osimhen has a £111 million release clause in his contract and Napoli will demand it to be paid in full. Therefore, Arsenal will need to break their club transfer record again to sign the striker. The Gunners recently shattered their transfer record to sign Declan Rice in a £105m deal from West Ham.

Similarly, Chelsea broke their transfer record for Moises Caicedo at the start of the season and it remains to be seen whether the Blues are prepared to pay a similar amount for Osimhen in the summer. Both clubs have spent freely in recent windows, and they will have to be careful about the financial fairplay regulations.

The asking price could prove to be prohibitive for both clubs, and it will be interesting to see if Napoli are prepared to lower their demands and accept a more reasonable fee.

As far as the player is concerned, he is a proven goal scorer in European football and he could be tempted to try out a new challenge at this stage of his career. He has nothing left to prove in Italian football and a move to the Premier League could be an attractive proposition for him.