Arsenal’s pursuit of a marquee striker to take their Premier League title push to the next level has received a boost with the new that Napoli are willing to negotiate on the asking price for hot property Victor Osimhen and following a big admission on his future by Antonio Conte.
Osimhen stands out when it comes to striking talents that are available to Arsenal at the moment and that availability appears to have been confirmed by the latest reports coming out of Italy.
Napoli have recently appointed Conte as their new manager and following meetings with players he has informed several stars that they will not be allowed to leave.
However, in the case of Osimhen, it seems that the new boss is prepared to let the Super Eagles striker walk out of Napoli because of a pre-existing agreement.
Napoli have so far kept suitors at bay with their asking price for the Nigeria international while Osimhen is seemingly uninterested in moving to Saudi Arabia which realistically limits his potential moves to Premier League heavyweights and the likes of Paris Saint Germain.
Osimhen has made his desire to play in the Premier League clear and the player has an agreement with Napoli regarding an exit this summer which has prevented Conte from demanding his stay in Naples.
“As far as Osimhen is concerned, just as I knew very well about the situation of Kvara, Di Lorenzo, Anguissa, Lobotka, on which I have placed an absolute veto,” Conte said this week while addressing the media for the first time.
“Having said that, I know what the situation is regarding Osimhen. I know that there are agreements, that it is a situation different from all the others. I can only assist.
“He is a player of the highest level, exceptional, but I cannot enter into any discussion because it is part of previous agreements which have been clearly stated to me.”
Arsenal take pole position in race to sign Victor Osimhen
Napoli have made some positive noises around the possibility of discounting the fee or accepting payments in installments.
Osimhen is reported to have a release clause of roughly £110m but Arsenal’s sporting director Edu is confident that a deal can be done for a figure at least moderately lower.
The belief at Arsenal is that they are in need of a world-class striker to lead their line if they are to sustain their push to challenge Manchester City for the title.
And while they are understood to be considering a number of options, there is little doubting that the Nigeria star would add a world-class element to their forward line if they can get a deal done.
