Napoli drop Victor Osimhen transfer bombshell amid Arsenal, Chelsea links

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has confirmed that star striker Victor Osimhen will leave the club in the summer despite only signing a new contract in December.

Osimhen is one of the most in-demand forwards in the world having helped the Italian side win Serie A last season.

He has been the subject of immense interest from clubs across the land in the past year and will now be playing his final six months in Naples. Speaking earlier this week he had already named the Premier League as a possible next destination, not going as far as revealing where he would be playing his football but offering a giant hint that a move is on the cards.

“I have already made my decision on the next step to do at the end of the season,” he told CBS. “I already made up my mind. I already have my plan, I know what I want to do, the next step I want to take.”

Osimhen is a big target for both Arsenal and Chelsea due to their demand for a new centre-forward but a mid-season deal has always been off the cards. A pre-agreement ahead of the summer has been seen as much more possible and now, with the 25-year-old in Ivory Coast for the African Cup of Nations with Nigeria, his president has opened up on what is to come.

“This was already known since this summer, our negotiations [over the new contract] were friendly, otherwise it would not have been so long,” he said. “We knew he would go to Real Madrid, PSG or a top English club.”

He had an offer to join the Saudi Pro League last year but hit out at claims that his next move would be to the Middle East, once again reiterating his desire to play in England. Now, with Kylian Mbappe also readying himself for a big move and the striker merry-go-round set to kick-off, this latest update on Osimihen has sent alarm bells ringing.