Chelsea told ‘dream’ striker signing could cost £150m in January; Arsenal also keen on goal machine
Gabby Agbonlahor thinks that Napoli striker Victor Osimhen could cost ‘something silly’ in January, amid links with Chelsea and Arsenal.
Both of the London clubs are keen on signing a new centre-forward this winter and interestingly, their scouts seem to be converging on the same targets.
For instance, Chelsea and Arsenal are both admirers of Brentford’s Ivan Toney, who seems destined to leave the Bees for a bigger club soon.
However, they are both very keen on Osimhen, too. Real Madrid and Saudi League clubs are also interested in the Nigeria international, who scored 26 goals in 32 league appearances last season as he fired Napoli to their first Serie A title since 1990.
Osimhen has started this season in a similar fashion, netting six in eight games so far.
With that in mind, he could be the player to help Chelsea break into the top four again, or help Arsenal beat their rivals to the Premier League title.
The London duo will have to spend an eye-watering amount of money to have any chance of signing Osimhen this winter, however.
Agbonlahor: Osimhen will cost ‘something silly’
According to Agbonlahor, it’ll take an astronomical bid to lure Osimhen away from Napoli in January.
When discussing Osimhen on talkSPORT, Agbonlahor said: “He’ll be something silly, like £140m or £150m.”
Transfer journalist Simon Phillips reported last month that Chelsea see Osimhen as a ‘dream’ signing, and Mauricio Pochettino’s side continue to monitor his situation.
Nicolas Jackson has scored just two goals in seven Premier League appearances so far for the Blues, Christopher Nkunku is sidelined with an injury until the new year, while Armando Broja is only just finding his feet after a long-term injury.
With that in mind, bringing in a goal machine like Osimhen could be exactly what Chelsea need to get back on track.
As for Arsenal, questions have been raised in recent weeks over whether the likes of Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus are prolific enough to fire them to a league title.
Mikel Arteta has a number of strikers on his radar at the moment. Osimhen is definitely one that the manager admires.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see if Chelsea or Arsenal test the resolve of Napoli with a bid for Osimhen in January. It seems unlikely that either would be willing to spend £150m, but with Todd Boehly involved, you just never know.
