Now that Folarin Balogun is about to complete his move to AS Monaco, Arsenal are left with Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketia in the No. 9 position.
However, the injury record of Gabriel Jesus is not good at all which makes it very clear that Arsenal need another striker with a different quality and with less injury records.
About which striker this could be, Football Transfers has exclusively revealed that Victor Osimhen could be the super striker Arsenal eyes as their priority 2024 signing.
Arsenal have already talked to Napoli that they are interested in their talisman. Football Transfers claims Edu Gaspar was in contact with the Serie A club’s owner, Aurelio De Laurentiis, to inquire about the availability of the Nigerian after the player’s agent’s encouragement. Apparently, Osimhen won’t extend his Napoli stay past 2025.
Some have accused the Arsenal squad of needing a 20+ goal striker; it is unlikely they’ll get one between now and Friday’s transfer deadline. Arteta has to work with what he has for now, and hopefully, next season, he will lay his hands on his dream striker, Victor Osimhen.
The report says Arsenal have stepped-up their interest after being given encouragement from Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, that he’d be open to a move to the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners are now laying the foundation for a deal to take place next summer.
The 24-year-old joined Napoli from LOSC Lille in 2020 and has gone on to make 103 appearances in all competitions, scoring 62 goals with 14 assists. Osimhen scored 10 league goals in his debut season and bagged 14 league goals a year later, but it was Osimhen’s 2022/23 campaign that put him on the map.
The Nigerian international scored 31 goals with five assists from 39 games across the board, resulting in every Premier League and European giant being cited as a suitor. Osimhen remained at Napoli, however, and has picked up where he left off this season – three goals from two Serie A games in 2023/24.
It’s easy to see why Arsenal would be keen but he won’t come cheap. Napoli paid €75m (£65m) for Osimhen but were requesting up to €200m (£172m) in July. Arsenal have already spent over £200m on new signings this summer, so they might not be able to match Osimhen’s asking price without selling out-of-favour players.
The good news for Arsenal is that Osimhen’s contract will have just one year left in 2024 and Football Transfers say he won’t sign an extension, so Napoli will be under pressure to cash-in next summer.
They will have to significantly reduce their asking price and Osimhen would be a brilliant acquisition for Arsenal if they could get a deal agreed to sign him next year.
