Exclusive: Interest in Victor Osimhen remains strong but Arsenal aren’t ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign him

After Napoli were knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona, rumours on Victor Osimhen’s future ramped up again.

The Nigerian hit-man has long been coveted by some of European football’s biggest club sides, and this summer could finally be the time when the Partnopei allow their star player to move on.

Chelsea have consistently been mentioned as having an interest in a player that’s believed to have a whopping €130m release clause, though apparent rumours linking the 25-year-old to Arsenal have surfaced recently.

No truth in Arsenal race for Victor Osimhen

“Guys, there’s nothing new on Victor Osimhen so far despite reports that Arsenal are ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign him,” Fabrizio Romano confirmed to CaughtOffside in his exclusive Daily Briefing.

“There is no ‘moving ahead’ because it’s not a proper race. There’s no negotiation with Napoli as there’s a release clause, so it’s about paying that money and reaching an agreement with Osimhen. At the moment no club is close to that.

“Interest from various clubs has been there for months, but at the moment we’re not any further along in the story.”

Until a decision is made one way or another, it’s clear that the rumours surrounding Osimhen are going to continue.

It’s understandable why he would be so much in demand too.

Even in a season where Napoli have been disappointing – they’re currently 31 points behind leaders Inter in the Serie A table – Osimhen has plundered 11 goals and three assists in 17 Italian top-flight appearances per WhoScored.

In a team that’s playing at a much higher level than Napoli are at present, the striker could do some real damage in front of goal.

Indeed, it wouldn’t be too far from the truth to suggest that he could be the difference maker in a title race for any team that’s lucky enough to acquire his services in the summer.