Arsenal have enquired into Napoli’s new demands for Victor Osimhen as the Italian side look to find a ‘solution’ to the player’s future.
Osimhen has expressed a desire to leave Napoli after the club’s failure to secure European football for next season and has a ‘pact’ with the Serie A side to allow him to leave.
Paris Saint-Germain had been frontrunners, with Osimhen having given the green light to a transfer to Ligue 1, but talks have stalled with PSG refusing to meet Napoli’s price tag.
Corriere dello Sport are reporting that Arsenal and Chelsea have made fresh enquiries into the cost of signing Osimhen, with Napoli having lowered their demands to £84m from the forward’s £109m release clause.
PSG, at present, are only willing to pay £75m for the 25-year-old and have rejected Napoli’s request for South Korea midfielder Kang-in Lee to be included in the deal.
Arsenal remain interested in signing a centre-forward but have a preference for Viktor Gyokeres over Osimhen. The former scored 43 goals and provided 15 assists in all competitions for Sporting Lisbon last season, as Ruben Amorim’s side won the Primeira Liga title.
The Gunners are expected to launch a formal approach for the Swedish striker and are hopeful that Sporting will accept a bid lower than Gyokeres’ €100m (£84m) release clause.
Chelsea appear to have the advantage in the race to sign Osimhen from Napoli, given the Italian side’s interest in signing Romelu Lukaku from the Blues.
Chelsea value Lukaku at around £38m and could use the Belgian as a makeweight to finance a move for Osimhen, who has scored 76 goals in 133 appearances for the Serie A side.
