Chelsea are interested in signing Victor Osimhen from Napoli in the summer for a reported €110m (£95.5m) valuation. The Serie A goalscorer looks due a move to the next step in his career and could command a massive fee.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Napoli will want in the region of €150m (£130m) to part with their star man. The 23 goals and five assists from 30 league games helped the Gli Azzurri to the Scudetto this season and now it seems Chelsea are after the forward.
From an Arsenal perspective, as they look to prepare for a new season, the Blues landing a record deal for a Premier League player is sure to have its consequences. football.london takes a look at the three things that are sure to happen if Osimhen does indeed make a switch to Stamford Bridge.
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No Osimhen for Arsenal
The first is obvious and apparent. Should Chelsea end up landing the Nigerian international then certainly the Gunners can wave goodbye to any chance of acquiring the Napoli forward now or likely in the future.
That said Arsenal do have a habit of picking up Blues stars but even then it doesn’t seem all that likely. With Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Arteta found a centre-forward who could be the link between the other attacking players in his team.
However the Brazilian has lacked the ruthless clinical finishing that Osimhen for example appears to possess. A forward may still be on the agenda for the future to compete with Jesus but Osimhen does not seem to be it.
Less competition for other centre-forwards
With Chelsea focused on Osimhen and potentially signing him this would take the Blues out of the race for other potential targets. Chelsea have been linked with Randal Kolo Muani, Dusan Vlahovic, Goncalo Ramos and Rasmus Hojlund, four of the best young forwards who could be on the move in this or future summer windows.
If the Blues do see Osimhen arrive, it would be unlikely that they would compete with Arsenal should the Gunners make their moves toward any of the aforementioned quartet. With Arsenal in a position of strength from their strong season, having one of the richest sides in the division out of the running would be only further help.
Champions League boost
We discussed previously how the potential appointment of Arne Slot at Tottenham could be a boost to Arsenal should pot 1 entrants and Eredivisie champions Feyenoord be stripped of their manager that has taken them to the title. The same can be said for Osimhen too.
Napoli, as Serie A champions, will enter pot 1 of the elite European tournament next season and with Arsenal in pot 2 they could indeed have to face the Italians. However, without Osimhen, Napoli are sure to pose far less of a threat, as was evident in their Champions League quarter-final first leg clash with AC Milan that Osimhen missed and the Gli Azzurri failed to score; back for the second leg and he was on the scoresheet.
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