Chelsea and Arsenal will be asked to pay £113million to secure services of top summer target - Reports
Arsenal and Chelsea will be asked to pay a massive £113 million fee to land Napoli striker Victor Osimhen this summer.
This is as per reports from The Standard, which add that the two London clubs will have to break the bank to secure the Nigerian's services.
Both Arsenal and Chelsea are in the market for strikers as they look to plug their goalscoring woes. The Blues signed Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson just last summer. However, the former has struggled with injuries, while the latter has lacked output on the pitch.
Meanwhile, the Gunners signed Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City a while ago. The Brazilian's injuries combined with lack of quality on the bench will prompt Mikel Arteta and the board to onboard another top striker. Their search has led them to Victor Osimhen, who is an obvious target for any ambitious club.
Osimhen joined Napoli in September 2020 and has made 122 appearances for the club, scoring 72 goals and providing 18 assists. This season, he has scored 13 goals and provided four assists in 21 appearances.
Considering his output, the value seems justifyable. However, Osimhen is injury prone and both Arsenal and Chelsea will be aware of this, leading to one or both teams dropping out of the race.
Napoli president delivers cryptic message about Arsenal & Chelsea target
Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has been a tough customer when it comes to player sales. He is known to prolong sagas and play hardball, especially when it comes to the club's top talents.
De Laurentiis recently made a cheeky remark seemingly directed towards Victor Osimhen. However, he did not mention the Nigerian's name, instead spoke of the clubs that are interested.
"Some players stay for many years, others are wanted by PSG, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea."
The president also conceded that it would be challenging to keep Osimhen at the club against his wishes. He also mentioned a 'high' release clause.
"It’s difficult to keep players when they are wanted by rich clubs.
I can confirm there’s a release clause, very high one."
Osimhen led Napoli to the Serie A title last season with 26 goals and five assists in 32 league appearances. He will certainly look for the next best possible move in his career aged just 25 currently.