Speculation over Victor Osimhen's future is growing and a move to London looks likely, according to multiple sources. Whether he decides to head to north or west London remains unclear, but a move to Arsenal over Chelsea would be in his best interest.
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The Osimhen saga continues to have chapters added to it with a new transfer window looming. When the market reopens on 1 January 2024, the Nigeria marksman will have 18 months remaining on his deal with Napoli. Contract talks with the Serie A champions reportedly began to stagnate after the past off-season, with progression over an extension being put to a further halt after the TikTok controversy the club found themselves in.
Coupled with his argument with now-former Napoli manager Rudi Garcia and it looks as though the Lagos native's future lies away from Italy come 2024. A move at the end of the season away from the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona seems likely, but already teams are beginning to circle the forward as they plot a massive transfer swoop.
There are many clubs who will be looking at bringing the 27-cap Super Eagle to their clubs, but a team that has constantly been linked with the last Serie A Golden Boot winner is Chelsea. The Blues signed Nicolas Jackson at the beginning of the season, but with his struggles in front of goal, he has not entirely won over the stakeholders at the club, and the prevailing school of thought is that the acquisition of Osimhen will solve their woes in attack and win them more games.
There is a good chance that this is true, but the Blues have much bigger issues than needing a player who will score them goals. His arrival will only make them marginally better as their defence will be their undoing. Already in 2023/24, they have conceded more goals than any of the current top seven in the league, and a large part of this boils down to experience.
Chelsea have moved away from bringing in the world's biggest names and adopted a more youth-focused transfer approach since the arrival of Clearlake Capital as majority owners of the club. So although they have spent a lot of money, they've spent it on what the likes of Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer could turn out to be as opposed to what they currently are.
The west Londoners are still in the infancy stage of their rebuild, and whether that transfer policy will bear fruit remains to be seen, but at this stage in Osimhen's career, a move to a more stable project would make a lot more sense. If the Premier League is his dream destination, then a move that makes the most sense is one to the Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners have already been through the hardships of starting a new sporting project under sporting director Edu Gaspar and head coach Mikel Arteta, and are now contending for the Premier League for a second successive season. While Gabriel Jesus has catapulted the record FA Cup winners to an elite European side, getting somebody like Osimhen in would transcend Arsenal the same way Erling Haaland helped make Manchester City treble winners.
Arteta reportedly did try to sign the 2023 CAF Men's Player of the Year nominee the same season Jesus arrived, but Napoli were not eager on selling then. Now, Gli Azzurri have lost leverage, putting Osimhen high up on the list for Arteta once again. Paris Saint-Germain, Public Investment Fund-owned Saudi Arabian sides and Real Madrid, among others, will also be present in the race for Osimhen, but England looks his most probable next destination.
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Recently on the Obi One Podcast, the Nigeria international expressed how he grew up wearing a Chelsea jersey and modelled his game after Didier Drogba, so it seems they may have a sentimental advantage. However, on the cusp of potentially being crowned African's best men's player this year, the pacey forward could do what the last Nigerian, Nwankwo Kanu, to win the award did in moving to Arsenal. It is with the current Premier League leaders where he stands the best chance of being successful.
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