Chelsea, Arsenal boost as Osimhen’s valuation is slashed; swap possible as Conte picks replacement
According to reports, Chelsea and Arsenal have been provided a boost as Napoli have slashed their asking price for Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen.
The 25-year-old has emerged as one of the best strikers playing in Europe over the past couple of seasons.
Osimhen was heavily linked with a move elsewhere after he scored 26 goals in 32 games to help Napoli win the Serie A title in 2022/23
He did not get a transfer as Napoli priced him out of a move and last season he extended his contract until 2026.
The 2023/24 campaign was poor from Napoli’s perspective, but Osimhen still impressed as he grabbed 15 goals in his 25 Serie A appearances.
At the start of this year, Osimhen revealed his desire to leave Napoli this summer amid interest from Arsenal and Chelsea.
He said: “At the end of the season, I think I already made up my mind. I already know what I wanna do with my career, since I’ve started, I’ve been the one making my own decisions and everything is working out well for me.
“Even though when I started it, it didn’t go as well as planned. But I already have my plan, I already know what I want to do, the next step I want to take.”
Arsenal and Chelsea are in the market for a new forward this summer and are known to be admirers of Osimhen, but his huge release clause – which is believed to be worth over £120m – is proving to be an obstacle.
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However, according to reports in Italy, Napoli have been forced to slash their asking price for Osimhen.
It is noted that Napoli had initially wanted 150 million euros (£126m) for Osimhen, but Chelsea ‘never started negotiations’ and ‘at present, there are no concrete offers’ for the forward.
This has pushed Napoli to have a re-think, with the report claiming they are ‘willing to evaluate possible offers of 100 million euros’.
A swap deal between Chelsea and Napoli could potentially be negotiated as new boss Antonio Conte ‘only’ wants Romelu Lukaku.
The report adds: ‘In Conte’s mind there is always only Lukaku. The coach still wants his pupil to entrust him with the keys to the attack. A desire that risks remaining unfulfilled because, without the sale of Osimhen, the club will not try to sign the Belgian striker.’
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