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Football London

Sport

Aaron Catterson-Reid & Luke Thrower

Victor Osimhen transfer latest: Talks planned, Chelsea admission, Man United move, £133m price

Victor Osimhen Arsenal Napoli Gunners Arsene Wenger footballlondon (Organization)

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen has established himself as one of Europe's best forwards this season.

The striker has continued his form from the early parts of the season to put up figures only bettered by Manchester City's Erling Haaland. With his contributions, the Azzurri find themselves leading the Serie A title race by some distance as well as being part of the final eight teams in the Champions League.

This has naturally led to some interest from the biggest clubs in world football, from Chelsea to Arsenal and Tottenham to Manchester United all linked. With that in mind, football.london has taken a look at the latest news linking the 24-year-old with a transfer ahead of this summer's window.

Talks scheduled

Victor Osimhen has confirmed that there will be talks held with his current side Napoli over his future at the club as teams continue to be linked with a move for the striker. He told Sport1: "I don't know what the future holds. At the end of the season, I will sit down with my agents and discuss. I will also be in talks with Napoli. I am incredibly grateful to Napoli. We'll find a good solution together."

Chelsea admission

Victor Osimhen has admitted in an interview with Sport1 that former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba is his idol amid links with a switch to Stamford Bridge. Discussing the ex-forward, Osimhen said: "Didier Drogba is my idol. I loved watching him play as a kid. I always wanted to be like him."

Gunners twist

Now, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has reported that Arsenal's transfer priorities likely lie away from Osimhen considering the north London club already have a plethora of centre-forwards at their disposal. "Speaking of Italian clubs, Victor Osimhen, I received many questions every single day about the Nigerian striker who is doing incredible in Serie A and in the Champions League with Napoli," Romano told his YouTube channel.

"The reality, we’ve had Arsenal links in the past 24 hours, but from what I understand Arsenal have different kinds of priorities at this moment on the market. Midfielder, probably a winger, let’s also see what they’re going to do in the defensive positions. For Osimhen at the moment the fee is going to be crazy."

Player admission

Osimhen has now admitted openly that playing in the Premier League remains his dream going forward.

"I think playing in one of the top five leagues in the world is an amazing feeling for me," he said, via Sky Sports. "A lot of people worldwide consider the Premier League as the best and the strongest league but now I'm in one of the best leagues in the world which is the Italian Serie A.

"I'm working so hard to make sure that I achieve my dream of playing in the Premier League some day but like I said, it's a process and I just want to keep on this momentum and continue to do well."

Arsenal 'favourites'

Arsenal are currently leading the race to sign Osimhen during this summer's transfer window, according to Italian outlet Rai, via Tutto Napoli.

They claim that the Gunners are now placed ahead of the likes of United and Chelsea in the race to sign the prolific striker whilst French giants Paris Saint-Germain are also said to hold an interest in the 24-year-old. It is also claimed that Napoli value their star centre-forward at around £133million, which would be a British transfer record.

United and Chelsea battle

According to Calciomercato, Chelsea owner Todd Boehly is willing to double Osimhen's current €4.5million (£3.9million) salary in order to beat Manchester United to his signature this summer.

The report goes on to claim that United boss Erik ten Hag has made signing the former Lille star his number one priority this summer, with the Red Devils desperate to bring in reinforcements up front.

Tottenham eye move

football.london understands that Napoli forward Victor Osimhen, who has established himself as one of Europe's best strikers, is on Spurs' radar. Tottenham considered the Nigerian back when he was in Ligue 1 in Lille and he would now come with a big fee after impressing in Italy.

Read the story in full here.

Honest Arsenal admission

The 23-year-old has previously admitted that he came close to joining Arsenal during Arsene Wenger's trophy-laden time in north London. Speaking to the Independent back in 2020, Osimhen said: “I spoke with Arsene Wenger after the tournament (Under-17 World Cup) ended and he wanted me to come to Arsenal.

“I had a lot of options. Barcelona; Inter Milan; Atletico Madrid; Juventus and the rest. Arsenal was a good option but it wasn’t the best at the time. I wanted to start playing as soon as I turned 18."