Arsenal have re-entered the race to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, according to reports from Italy.
Osimhen is widely expected to leave Napoli this summer, having not featured at all for the club under new boss Antonio Conte and sporting director Giovanni Manna admitted earlier this week that the player was likely to depart.
He said: “Victor is an important player, with an important value and conditions. His desire is clear. We tried to maintain the integrity of the squad at this moment. We are not the only club in this situation and we’ll see what happens over the next 10 days. At this time, it is not right to say what sensations there are. We are working with his entourage to find the best solution.”
Chelsea have held talks over signing the 25-year-old, with Napoli keen on bringing in Romelu Lukaku as Osimhen’s replacement. However, they now face competition from Arsenal, who are said to have revisited their interest in Osimhen.
According to Corriere dello Sport, Arsenal are ‘back on the trail’ of Osimhen and would be prepared to pay around €100million (£84.9m) for his services.
Arsenal have been heavily linked with the forward in the past and he even rejected them back when Arsene Wenger was in charge. Osimhen had the opportunity to move to the Emirates after scoring ten goals for Nigeria as they won the U17 World Cup in 2015. “I spoke with Arsene Wenger after the tournament ended and he wanted me to come to Arsenal,” he told the Independent in 2020.
“I had a lot of options. Barcelona; Inter Milan; Atletico Madrid; Juventus and the rest.” However, he ultimately decided to move to Wolfsburg as they were able to offer him more first-team opportunities.
“Arsenal was a good option but it wasn’t the best at the time,” he explained. “I wanted to start playing as soon as I turned 18. I wanted to go to a place where I had time to invest in my game and improve physically. Wolfsburg showed me that possibility.”
Unfortunately, things did not work out for Osimhen in Germany and it took a season on loan in Belgium with Charleroi to kickstart his career. Osimhen scored 20 goals in 36 games for Charleroi and earned himself a move to Lille, where he struck 18 goals in 38 games.
That caught the attention of Napoli, who paid a club record fee to bring him to Italy. His goalscoring form has continued in Naples, with Osimhen notably firing Napoli to their first Serie A title since 1990 in 2023.
