Chelsea 'ahead of' Arsenal in £150m striker fight amid 'agreement' claim but Poch eyes PL 'alternative'

According to reports, Chelsea are now ‘ahead of’ Premier League rivals Arsenal in the race to sign Nigeria forward Victor Osimhen from Napoli.

The Blues have spent over £1bn on new signings since American businessman Todd Boehly completed his takeover of the Premier League club last year.

Chelsea have been focused on signing young players to significantly reduce their squad’s average age but they are still arguably lacking in attacking areas.

The London outfit only scored 38 Premier League goals last season and £30m summer signing Nicolas Jackson has only netted once in his first four league games for Chelsea.

It has been suggested that Chelsea will re-enter the market for another new striker either in January or next summer and Osimhen has been mentioned as a potential recruit.

Osimhen has emerged as one of the best forwards in Europe and he scored 31 goals for Napoli last term to help the Italian side win the Serie A title. The 24-year-old has also made a new start to this season as he’s scored three goals in three appearances.

The striker was reportedly valued at around £150m in the summer so he was never likely to leave Napoli before the transfer window closed earlier this month. But he is out of contract in 2025 so unless he pens a new deal, his value will begin to decrease over the next year.

Football Transfers are reporting that Chelsea are ‘leading the race’ to sign Osimhen ‘ahead of’ Arsenal. The report explains.

‘Football Transfers exclusively revealed that Arsenal will seek to land the player next summer. Chelsea appear to have taken the jump on their London rivals with regards Osimhen’s future, however.

‘Football Transfers understands that the Blues have their eyes fixed on the forward. Sources have indicated that there is a possibility that a deal may already have been agreed upon with the star, hence the lack of effort made to bring in an elite striker during the summer, when Chelsea settled for the promising Nicolas Jackson.‘Arsenal have had meaningful contact with Napoli but Chelsea are now favourites to land Osimhen, who has scored 62 goals in 104 appearances for the Serie A outfit, next summer.

‘Chelsea have enquired about Brentford striker Ivan Toney as an alternative, but it is FootballTransfers’ understanding that their interest in the hitman, who is presently serving a ban for gambling offences, goes no further than that. Osimhen, though, is the leading priority for Mauricio Pochettino’s side and a player they want to complete a transfer for at the end of the current season.’

Football Insider are meanwhile reporting that Chelsea are ‘interested’ in Toney, but Brentford are ‘likely to ask for a fee of around £70m’ for their prized asset and there will be ‘competition’ for the Englishman.

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