Arsenal and Chelsea may be getting quite a boost in their chase for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
Some updates on the centre-forward’s situation are today brought by Gianluca Di Marzio, who’s in Paris for the Champions League clash between Paris Saint Germain and Borussia Dortmund.
In quotes relayed by CalcioNapoli24, the journalist explained why Osimhen doesn’t feel so attracted to joining PSG, as Arsenal and Chelsea are seen as better options.
“The possibility of playing in France again does not excite Osimhen, who has already played there with Lille. Clearly playing with PSG is different because you can play games like tonight’s Champions League semi-final, but his preference is England. Arsenal and Chelsea are the two teams that could take Osimhen and as long as that possibility is open he will wait.”
Now there’s a specific reason to believe Chelsea could have an advantage over Arsenal in this race. That’s because Napoli are thinking about replacing Osimhen with Romelu Lukaku, who’s returning to Stamford Bridge this summer, following a loan spell at AS Roma. So it seems the possibility of a swap, with the obvious inclusion of a fee, could be on the table.
“Napoli’s new general manager Manna is talking to Chelsea to assess whether there is room to close the deal and to include Lukaku in the possible Osimhen deal. The deal would be similar to the one that was being done last summer between the English club and Juventus for Vlahovic. I am not so sure that Osimhen will eventually play in France with PSG. He often goes to England when he has a day off and enjoys being there with his friends.
It’s well known that Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis wants over €120m to sell Osimhen this summer, and a little discount by including Lukaku in the deal would definitely be welcomed by Chelsea. It remains to be seen if Arsenal could compete by making a huge offer for the Nigerian.
