Fabrizio Romano has commented on the Victor Osimhen transfer saga as the Napoli striker continues to be linked with Chelsea and Arsenal in the final weeks of the summer window.
Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his latest Daily Briefing column, Romano played down some of the reports emerging from Italy stating that Arsenal could also join Chelsea in the race to sign Osimhen, as he’s not currently aware of other clubs competing for the Nigeria international.
Still, there’s also not much of an update on Chelsea either, though Romano says the Blues never left the race for Osimhen, whose future is perhaps being held up by the fact that he only wants to move on a permanent transfer and that he’s refusing to lower his salary demands.
Paris Saint-Germain were also keen on Osimhen earlier this summer before moving on to other targets, so for now it just seems like Chelsea might be the most likely option, even if nothing is particularly imminent.
![napoli as roma victor osimhen](https://icdn.caughtoffside.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/napoli-as-roma-victor-osimhen.jpg)
Arsenal fans will be disappointed, but probably not surprised, as Osimhen probably looks too expensive for them after some big spending on recent signings like Riccardo Calafiori, Declan Rice and Kai Havertz.
A new striker certainly wouldn’t go amiss at the Emirates Stadium, but it looks for now like Chelsea are unopposed in their bid to sign Osimhen.
Osimhen transfer update from Fabrizio Romano
“Finally on Chelsea, there is still no major update or change to the Victor Osimhen situation. They never left the race, but Osimhen still insists on a permanent transfer and he won’t lower his salary demands,” Romano said.
“I’m also not aware of any negotiation ongoing right now with other clubs, despite some reports in Italy mentioning Arsenal. PSG had the green light from Osimhen one month ago but then they started working on different targets, so as far as I know there are currently no discussions ongoing with other clubs.”
Osimhen has been a world class performer for Napoli and it would be exciting to see him in the Premier League, even if it’s clearly not looking like an easy deal to get done.