In a recent turn of events, Arsenal approached Victor Osimhen’s entourage to start talks about a move to England, according to journalist Emmanuel Camarotto.
The Nigerian striker has been the subject of transfer speculation between Arsenal and a few other clubs in the Premier League since December.
Osimene, Serie A Player of the Month for March, has become one of Europe’s most feared strikers. He’s big, fast and powerful, and a danger to Serie A defenders, many of whom have attested to the difficulty of keeping him away.
He is currently Napoli’s top scorer in all competitions despite being out for three months with a broken cheekbone. His 12 Serie A goalscoring from 21 games played is the sixth most by a foreign player in Serie A. He is also four times ahead of Napoli’s second-best scorer this season, Lorenzo Insigne.
Arsenal tried and failed to get Dusan Vlahovic in January, opting for the Serbian striker, the Serie A giants instead. They are also skeptical about paying Real Sociedad upwards of €60m for Alexandre Isaacs, another striker they are interested in.
Osimhen will cost roughly the same amount, but with Arsenal desperate for a major signing to restore the fans’ trust in the club’s management, they have decided the 23-year-old is worth a huge investment.
Italian journalist Emmanuel Camarotto who broke the news claims the striker is satisfied with Arsenal’s undisclosed offer, but they will have to do some work to convince him to leave Diego Armando Maradona’s stadium this summer.
“The big names in the Premier League are following him and starting to emerge, but Napoli’s idea is to keep the Nigerian attacking heart in front for at least another season unless there are important proposals,” said Camarotto.
“For the time being Arsenal has come forward and explored the player’s entourage.
“Osimhen has registered Arsenal’s interest and appears to have been satisfied with the proposal, but he does not consider Arsenal the first choice for his career.
“The former Lille bomber wants to play in the Champions League with Napoli, and then he will choose his future.”
Napoli could also lose Mexican winger Hirving Lozano, who is said to be targeted by Real Madrid.
The former PSV Eindhoven striker is in his third season with Napoli and did not live up to expectations. He has shown his quality on a number of occasions, but has managed to present the kind of offensive threat that Dries Mertens and Insigne consistently present to the club, resulting in him being an expensive team player.
While the club is not looking to sell the Mexican, it is said that it will hear offers of €35m and above. Real Madrid and Sevilla are reported to be ready to bid for the winger in the summer as they seek to renew their squads, according to the Spanish transfer news agency. Fichajes.
Inter Milan are also interested in the 26-year-old winger, who has scored just five goals and four assists in 32 appearances across all competitions for Napoli this season.
Real Madrid want the winger to replace Marco Asensio or Eden Hazard, who they plan to move to in the summer.
