- Chelsea are not thought to be pursuing a move for the highly-rated Napoli star
- Osimhen’s future is uncertain due to pre-season problems and interest from clubs
Napoli star Victor Osimhen can still secure a Premier League place despite Chelsea ending their pursuit of the Nigerian by signing Samu Omorodion.
Mail Sport reported that talks are progressing between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid over Omorodion, who will cost the Blues a whopping £30million despite scoring just nine goals in 35 LaLiga games during a loan spell at Alaves.
The deal for Omorodion is said to be separate to the reverse transfer of Conor Gallagher, which would see the midfielder fly to the Spanish capital to undergo a medical with Atletico Madrid ahead of a transfer worth £33.7million.
Chelsea have been heavily linked with a move for Osimhen in the recent transfer window, with a swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku and cash mooted.
However, the Serie A club refused to accept Osimhen’s £111million release clause.
Victor Osimhen faces uncertain future at Napoli amid interest from Arsenal and PSG
Now that Chelsea have parted ways with Osimhen, Sky Italy reporter Gianluca Di Marzio claims Arsenal could go ahead with a transfer for the Nigerian striker.
The report claims The Gunners, Paris Saint-Germain and clubs in Saudi Arabia are all interested in Osimhen, who scored 76 goals in 133 games for Napoli.
Despite the riches Saudi Arabia has to offer, the report claims Osimhen is not enthusiastic about the prospect of playing in the Middle East.
The 25-year-old has yet to play a single pre-season match for Napoli under new manager Antonio Conte as his time in Italy looks set to end soon.
Should Arsenal activate Osimhen’s staggering release clause, it would smash the club’s record transfer fee, which paid £105m for star player Declan Rice just 12 months ago.
Osimhen’s arrival would also be a major statement from Gunners manager Mikel Arteta in his bid to prevent Manchester City from winning a fifth successive Premier League title.
Osimhen did not play in pre-season training under new Napoli manager Antonio Conte
Arteta may need extra firepower to prevent Man City from winning the Premier League title
Osimhen would also add significant firepower to Arsenal’s attack, which is heavily reliant on the contributions of star player Bukayo Saka.
Arteta often deployed Kai Havertz, an attacking midfielder by trade, and Gabriel Jesus up front last season, but neither scored the goals required to dethrone City.
