Premier League sides Arsenal and Chelsea want to sign Napoli’s Victor Osimhen but the Nigerian international has a massive release clause in his contract.
The forward signed a new deal with Napoli in December of last year and it’s being claimed that his new contract has a €130 million release which is proving to be a major hurdle for Arsenal.
Chelsea, as per the rumours, do not mind paying €100 million plus for Osimhen as Pochettino is eager to bring in a world-class striker during the upcoming summer transfer window. However, the Gunners are not in a position to pay such a steep price because they spent a lot of money last summer.
Arsenal brought in expensive players like Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber last year and at the end of this season, Mikel Arteta will have to bring in a central midfielder. The club did not sign any new players in January either and they will have to be very careful not to break any FFP rules in the coming months.
The way Chelsea are playing this season, their Champions League dream is very clearly over but the Gunners can most certainly offer Osimhen top-tier European football next season and Arteta’s hoping this can be their trump card.
Napoli’s hierarchy have admitted that Osimhen is going to leave the club at the end of this season but thanks to that new contract, the Serie A side will be able to bag a hefty transfer fee.
Should Arsenal really battle Chelsea for Victor Osimhen?
Arsenal are willing to sell Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah so they will be able to gather some funds but Mikel Arteta is most likely going use his resources to sign someone like Ivan Toney.
Chelsea spent crazy amounts of money last summer and they are going to do the same this year as well. There’s no doubt Victor Osimhen is a top talent but Arsenal do not need to get into an unnecessary bidding war with their London rivals.
Toney is also available and the England international is inclined to work under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates Stadium. The Brentford man will cost around €100-105 million and even though he is not in the same bracket as Victor Osimhen, the striker did score 20 Premier League goals last season.
Osimhen scored 31 goals across all competitions last season for Napoli and he was one of the key factors in helping the club their first Serie A title since 1990. This campaign, however, the 25-year-old has seen a slight dip in form, managing to score just 7 goals in 13 league appearances.
PSG will also try and sign Osimhen now that they are about to lose Mbappe and if the French side are seriously interested then they won’t mind breaking the bank. A club like Chelsea can go into a bidding war with the QSI-backed club but Arsenal cannot afford that kind of luxury.
Arteta will need a top striker no matter what happens this season but even Osimhen will prefer a move to Chelsea over Arsenal. At Stamford Bridge, he can ask for a massive salary package and at the same time, he will be the undisputed centre-forward next season. Lukaku’s not coming back while Jackson has not been up to the mark so the centre-forward’s position is very much up for grabs.
The lure of Champions League football will mean nothing if the North London side cannot trigger the €130 million release clause.
