Fabrizio Romano has now provided an update on Arsenal’s pursuit of Victor Osimhen.
Transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano believes that Arsenal face a tough task in bringing Napoli striker Victor Osimhen to the Emirates Stadium in the upcoming January transfer window.
Writing in his Daily Briefing, the reporter said, “Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis seems fairly confident that his player will stay, suggesting that Osimhen’s new contract, offered last summer, is ready to be signed. My information is that, at the moment, the contract extension is not guaranteed yet, so it remains all open.”
“The Serie A side will keep insisting that they don’t want Osimhen to leave early in the new year, so it will need to be a crazy bid in order to tempt Napoli to do business. Otherwise Osimhen’s situation becomes a hot topic for the summer transfer window.”
Arsenal are currently in the market for a striker. Sporting director Edu is believed to have already made contact with Napoli in order to discuss a potential move for Osimhen.
Unsurprisingly, the Italian outfit are extremely reluctant to let the forward go. The 24-year-old is a talismanic figure for the club, having fired them to a league title triumph last season. He has been in solid form so far this season, too, with six goals to his name from twelve outings, across all competitions.
Victor Osimhen would shake up Arsenal attacking dynamic
It was always going to be difficult for the north London club to get a deal such as this done in the winter window. Especially as Arsenal will only have a limited budget to work with. It seems likely, though, that the Gunners will have the chance to go back in for Osimhen in the summer as his contract situation with Napoli may well not be resolved by then.
Osimhen would be a brilliant addition to Mikel Arteta’s squad. The Nigerian is one of the most proficient goal-scorers in European football, and ought to be a far more prolific figure the top of the pitch for Arsenal than Gabriel Jesus.
The Brazilian is a fantastic player, who brings a lot to this Arsenal team and how they play, but he lacks conviction in front of goal at times. Jesus has recently admitted that scoring goals is not the main part of his game.
The same cannot be said of Osimhen. The 27-cap Nigeria international is a clinical finisher who can be relied upon to find the back of the net with regularity. He would have a transformative impact on the Gunners’ attacking contingent. However, it would be fascinating to see how he would interact with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli, and Martin Odegaard, who thrive off their interplay with Jesus.
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