Arsenal must pay €100 million to snap up 23-year-old striker identified as Aubameyang's replacement: Reports

Arsenal have been told that they will need to pay up to around €100 million to sign Napoli hitman Victor Osimhen. The 23-year-old is one of Europe's most highly sought-after strikers, having flourished in Naples since a €70 million move from Lille two years ago.

The Nigerian has eleven goals in 20 Serie A games for Luciano Spalleti's side this season. His goalscoring exploits have caught the eye of Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness) reports that the Gunners are targeting the Nigerian as a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who departed for Barcelona in January.

However, given the huge sum required to bring him to the Emirates Stadium, it will be a difficult mission for Arteta in getting the striker. The Gunners have alternatives lined up in the form of Benfica striker Darwin Nunez, Real Sociedad's Alexander Isak and Everton forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

However, Osimhen's impressive goalscoring record coinciding with his young age could see Arteta want to pursue the Nigerian.

There is still an air of uncertainty over the future of current Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette. The Frenchman is out of contract with the club this summer and there has been no movement in talks over a new deal.

Lacazette has come into form in recent months. He scored a vital winning goal in the Gunners' 2-1 comeback win over Wolverhampton Wanderers last month.

Champions League qualification could increase Arsenal's chances of landing a top talent

Should the Gunners manage to qualify for the Champions League, it will certainly help attract bigger names to the Emirates Stadium. The north London side have not played UCL football since 2017. The prospect of playing in Europe's elite club competition could see big names interested in Arteta's project.

One name that has recently been linked with a move to Arsenal is Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix. Football.London (via FourFourTwo) reports that Felix could make the move to the Emirates with the Gunners targeting two forward signings.

The 21-year-old is Atletico Madrid's most expensive signing in the club's history, having joined from Benfica for a huge €126 million in 2019. Despite being touted as a potential future Balon d'Or winner, the Portugal star has not lived up to the hype during his time at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

A move to the Gunners may suit the forward given the attacking style Arteta has implemented at the club. This is in contrast to the stagnant defensive style Atletico play.

About the author

Matthew is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who has been covering news, rumors and match reports for close to 3 years. Learning creative writing from University of Essex, he combined his skills and passion for football take up writing for the sport professionally.

Matthew always strives to go beyond a story and offer unique and lesser-known insights, while maintaining an unbiased tone in his articles. His reporting exploits at the company have helped him gain a humungous readership of 25 million, with one of his articles raking in a whopping 724,000 reads.

A Manchester United fan since childhood, Matthew admired Sir Alex Ferguson for his loyalty and brave coaching style. His favorite footballer is Thierry Henry, believing the Frenchman to be uniquely talented and charismatic. An ardent Three Lions fan, England's penalty shootout win over Colombia in 2018 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment of all time, and he believes that Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe will have a Ballon d’Or duopoly after Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

He also follows his local EFL League Two clubs AFC Wimbledon and Sutton United, and spends his free time watching and writing about professional wrestling. He also likes to work out, watch movies and go for night outs.

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Edited by Ritwik Kumar