Chelsea hold advantage over Arsenal in world-class forward chase as Euro giant ruled out

Victor Osimhen and Todd Boehly, Chelsea

Chelsea are the best-placed club to sign Napoli ace Victor Osimhen this summer despite the player also being looked at by Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, according to a respected Italian journalist.

Osimhen remains one of the most prolific strikers at Europe’s top level, having found the back of the net 17 times in 30 matches so far this season. That includes four strikes in his last five Serie A appearances, though Napoli have only managed one victory in that period.

After winning the Scudetto last term, Napoli have failed to build on that success and have fallen as low as eighth in the table. To make matters worse, the Naples club were knocked out of both the Champions League and Coppa Italia in the round of 16.

Osimhen is more likely to leave Napoli than he was last summer as he has become frustrated with their lack of progress. The centre-forward has also penned a new contract which guarantees he can leave if a €130million (£112m) bid comes in.

Earlier this week, Napoli were surprisingly tipped to ask for Chelsea flop Mykhailo Mudryk as part of a player-plus-cash deal for Osimhen.

Gianluca Di Marzio has now provided an update on the striker’s situation, and it seems Chelsea are in a very strong position.

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While PSG want Osimhen to replace Kylian Mbappe, the Nigerian would rather test himself out in the Premier League next.

Arsenal are also in the mix for Osimhen, but Romelu Lukaku holds the key to Chelsea winning this huge transfer race.

Chelsea transfers: Victor Osimhen ‘waiting’ for England move

“The possibility of playing in France again does not excite Osimhen, who has already played there with Lille,” Di Marzio said on Sky Italia.

“Clearly playing with PSG is different because you can play games like tonight’s Champions League semi-final, but his preference is England.

“Arsenal and Chelsea are the two teams that could take Osimhen and as long as that possibility is open he will wait.”

Di Marzio continued: “Napoli’s new general manager, [Giovanni] Manna, is talking to Chelsea to assess whether there is room to close the deal and to include Lukaku in the possible Osimhen deal.

“The deal would be similar to the one that was being done last summer between the English club and Juventus for [Dusan] Vlahovic.

“I am not so sure that Osimhen will eventually play in France with PSG. He often goes to England when he has a day off and enjoys being there with his friends.”

It is understandable that Napoli would rather sell the 25-year-old to Chelsea than Arsenal. Blues co-owner Todd Boehly has shown he is willing to spend huge money to improve the first-team squad with top signings.

But if Chelsea include Lukaku in a player-plus-cash deal, then this will save Napoli from having to go out and find a replacement for Osimhen. Lukaku might not have lived up to expectations during his second Stamford Bridge spell, but he is lethal in Italy.