Victor Osimhen latest: £55m offer poised to be agreed for prolific Arsenal, Chelsea target
Napoli have reportedly received a €65 million (£55m) transfer offer for Chelsea and Arsenal transfer target Victor Osimhen ahead of the close of the summer transfer window.
The Serie A giants have decided to let their prized asset leave the club this summer after agreeing a deal to sign Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku as his direct replacement.
Lukaku has spent the last two seasons out on loan at Inter Milan and Roma and is poised to return to Italy in a deal worth around £38m before Friday’s deadline.
Chelsea had initially been exploring a swap deal with Napoli involving Lukaku and Osimhen but were put off by the latter’s valuation of over £100m at the time.
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That figure has now dropped to nearer £85m, although it’s the Nigerian international £500,000-a-week salary demands that have now seemingly seen the Stamford Bridge outfit back away from any deal as they look to cut their already bloated wage bill not increase it.
Arsenal, however, remain constantly linked with a swoop for the prolific 25-year-old goalscorer, who has notched 114 goals in 223 club career games.
And while that sort of salary would also create problems for the Gunners, Mikel Arteta’s men are arguably a reliable No.9 away from finally releasing Manchester City’s stranglehold on the Premier League.
Indeed, Mikel Arteta stated after the weekend win at Aston Villa that the club remain in the market for a new striker after it was announced that Gabriel Jesus will miss some game time with a groin injury.
Speaking after that Villa Park truimph, Arteta acknowledged that his side are ‘still short’ up front and hopes they can add to their squad before Friday’s deadline.
“We are really happy with the squad we have,” Arteta told Sky Sports.
“It is true we have an injury with Gabriel Jesus as well and we missed him. So we are a little bit short. If we can do something we will do it but at the moment we love the ones we have, they are really, really good.”
Al Ahli closing in on Osimhen deal
However, it appears that Osimhen could be on the verge of heading to the Saudi Pro League instead following the latest developments.
Fabrizio Romano reports that an agreement between Napoli and Al Ahli for a package in excess of €65m is almost done, pending small details.
However, he adds that no agreement is in place with Osimhen so far as the Nigerian striker wants an ‘important salary’, while there will also be a release clause included.
It’s been stated before that Osimhen is against moving to Saudi Arabia this early in his career as he feels he could be a massive success at a bigger club in Europe.