Chelsea and Arsenal suffer blow as club president confirms contract talks with top target

Chelsea and Arsenal may need to set their sights elsewhere after Napoli president Aurelio Di Laurentiis revealed that Victor Osimhen is close to penning a new deal. The Italian club have been in talks with the Nigerian striker since the summer to sign a contract extension.

Osimhen has been one of the finest strikers in world football over the past year, leading Napoli to a first league crown since 1990. He recorded 26 goals and five assists in 32 league games last season. The striker has only two years left to run on his contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where he has been since 2020.

Chelsea and Arsenal have indicated their interest in signing Victor Osimhen, whose contract negotiations have hit a snag in recent months. Both London sides hope to lure the striker to the Premier League, where he will hope to leave his mark, as well.

De Laurentiis has revealed in an interview with Football Italia that the 24-year-old striker is already at the final stages of signing an extension at the club. The offer has been on the table since the summer, but negotiations have not progressed as expected since then.

De Laurentiis said:

“For Osimhen we’re at the signature that has been pending since the summer.”

The Napoli president still waits for Osimhen to append his signature on the new contract, which will see him extend his stay at the club. He has scored six goals in nine Serie A games for the Partenopei this season.

Osimhen turned down a mega-money offer to move to Saudi Arabia in the summer, preferring to remain in Europe. The former Lille man will, however, find it difficult to turn down a substantial bid from Arsenal or Chelsea.

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Chelsea, Arsenal have other options for striker position: Reports

Both Chelsea and Arsenal are interested in taking Victor Osimhen from Napoli, but both sides are prepared for the possibility of failure. Their respective recruitment teams have identified other targets who may be signed in place of the Nigerian striker.

Both sides are looking at signing Brentford star Ivan Toney, and have several other names on their list of targets. Chelsea have been linked with Benjamin Sesko, Santiago Gimenez, and Victor Boniface, as well, in recent weeks, as per Fichajes.net.

Arsenal have their eyes on Sesko, as well as long-time target Dusan Vlahovic, for a move in 2024, as per TEAMTalk. The Gunners may not be willing to spend a lot of money on Osimhen or Toney in the coming months, and Mikel Arteta may settle for a cheaper alternative.

Both sides are aware of the financial implications of signing Victor Osimhen and will try to find the best deal that will not leave them in a financial mess.