Napoli star Victor Osimhen could still find himself in the Premier League despite Chelsea effectively ending their pursuit of the Nigerian as they press on with a move for Samu Omorodion.
Mail Sport revealed talks between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid are advancing over Omorodion, who is set to cost the Blues a cool £30million despite scoring just nine goals from 35 LaLiga appearances in a loan stint with Alaves.
The deal for Omorodion would be separate to Conor Gallagher’s move the other way, with the midfielder jetting into the Spanish capital to undergo a medical with Atletico Madrid ahead of a £33.7m move.
Chelsea had been heavily linked with a move for Osimhen in recent windows, with a swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku plus cash floated.
However, the Serie A side refused to budge on Osimhen’s £111m release clause.
With Chelsea moving on from Osimhen, Sky Italy claim that Arsenal could now press ahead with a move for the Nigerian marksman.
The report claims the Gunners, along with Paris Saint-Germain and clubs in Saudi Arabia, all hold an interest in Osimhen, who has scored 76 goals in 133 appearances for Napoli.
Despite the riches on offer in Saudi Arabia, the report claims Osimhen is not enthused by the prospect of playing in the Middle East.
The 25-year-old is yet to feature in a single pre-season game for Napoli under new boss Antonio Conte as his time in Italy appears increasingly likely to end sooner rather than later.
Should Arsenal trigger Osimhen’s eye-watering release clause, it would shatter the club’s record transfer fee just 12 months after they forked out £105m for star midfielder Declan Rice.
The signing of Osimhen would also represent a major statement of intent from Gunners boss Mikel Arteta in his bid to stop Manchester City from winning a fifth-straight Premier League title.
Osimhen has made a huge impact at Napoli since joining in a reported club record £80m move from Lille in 2020.
The forward has scored 76 goals in 133 appearances for the club and played a key role in their Serie A title win in the 2022-23 season.
The 25-year-old scored 26 goals in Napoli’s run to their first Scudetto since 1990.
Osimhen netted 17 times in 32 matches last season in all competitions, as Napoli endured a miserable defence of their Serie A title.
Napoli missed out on European football after finishing 10th in a season which saw the team go through three different managers.
Osimhen had signed a new contract in December, extending his Napoli deal until 2026.
The deal saw Osimhen secure a major pay rise, while his release clause reportedly increased to €130m (£113m).
