Arsenal ‘snubbed chance to sign Victor Osimhen after Gunners placed price cap on new striker transfer’
ARSENAL turned down the opportunity to sign star striker Victor Osimhen in the summer because they thought he was too expensive.
Osimhen, 25, has put the whole world on notice the last four years thanks to some stunning performances with Napoli whom he led to their first Serie A title in 33 years.
The Nigeria international attracted immense interest this past summer transfer window and came close to Chelsea who made him their top target.
The Blues made a final bid in the dying hours of the transfer market last month but did not hear back from the centre-forward, while there were even reports of club chiefs flying to Naples to hold talks.
Osimhen ended up moving to Galatasaray on loan much to the surprise of everyone after he fell out of favour in Naples and new manager Antonio Conte gave his shirt number to Romelu Lukaku.
According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal also had the chance to land the Nigerian.
However, the Gunners opted against meeting his staggering release clause, which is said to have cost £109million.
The North Londoners also decided against going for a striker altogether with manager Mikel Arteta placing his faith on Kai Havertz as a false nine.
That is despite Eddie Nketiah moving to Crystal Palace and Gabriel Jesus still dealing with fitness issues.
Arsenal looked determined to land a centre-forward from the top shelf in the early days of the summer transfer window.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
Arteta’s side was strongly linked with the likes of Victor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko.
But Gyokeres and Sesko ultimately stayed put at Sporting Lisbon and RB Leipzig respectively.
According to The Times, however, Arteta looks set to sign a star forward in the next two transfer windows after penning a new deal at the Emirates which ties him until 2027.
That could see Arsenal going back for Sesko, while Athletic Bilbao star Nico Williams and Bayern Munich ace Jamal Musiala have also been linked.