Arsenal 'make contact over Victor Osimhen deal'

The 25-year-old has established himself as one of the most prolific strikers in Europe during his three-and-a-half year spell with Napoli having scored 67 goals in 119 appearances across all competitions.

Osimhen netted 26 goals in 32 Serie A matches last season to win the Golden Boot and fire the Partenopei to their first Scudetto title in 33 years.

The Nigeria international, who is currently away on Africa Cup of Nations duty, decided to commit his future to Napoli in December by signing a contract extension until June 2026.

However, amid reported interest from a hosts of top European clubs, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis revealed last weekend that Osimhen will leave the club in the summer.

De Laurentiis has stated that Osimhen is likley to join "Real Madrid, PSG or a top English club", with Arsenal and Chelsea believed to be main contenders from the Premier League for his signature.

A recent report claims that Chelsea have moved ahead of Arsenal in the race to sign Osimhen, who has expressed his desire to play in the Premier League.

However, the Gunners appear to have stepped up their pursuit of Osimhen, as Italian news outlet CalcioNapoli 24, via football.london, claims that Mikel Arteta's side have made contact regarding the possibility of luring the Nigerian to the Emirates Stadium.

The report adds that the Gunners are 'concretely' interested in signing the striker, who is understood to possess a £112m release clause in his new Napoli contract.

Arteta acknowledged earlier this month that it is not "realistic" for Arsenal to pursue a new striker in the January transfer window, but it is thought that the addition of a new goalscorer will be high on their agenda in the summer.

Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah are the two recognised striker options at Arteta's disposal, but both players have struggled for consistency in front of goal this season, with he former scoring just three goals in 16 Premier League appearances and the latter netting only five times in 20 top-flight outings.

Arsenal's lack of activity in the January market is largely due to their significant outlay last summer when they spent in excess of £200m on signing Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber, while David Raya is set to join permanently this summer after initially joining the club on loan.

The Gunners will likley be required to spend big if they wish to recruit a top-level centre-forward before the start of the 2024-25 campaign, as targets including Osimhen and Brentford's Ivan Toney are valued in excess of £100m.

Arsenal are also understood to have identified cheaper alternatives, though, including Bologna's Joshua Zirkzee, with a recent report claiming that the North Londoners have made contact with the Italian club to register their interest.