Former Arsenal defender Mikael Silvestre believes the Gunners should prioritise a move for Napoli’s Victor Osimhen ahead of Brentford’s Ivan Toney.
Speaking to GGRecon, Silvestre said that Toney’s valuation is excessive and he feels Osimhen’s style of play would be much “better suited to Arsenal”:
“I think £100m is extremely high. I know goalscorers are very rare, but that’s too much money for Ivan. I don’t believe that price is a true reflection of his quality.”
“In my eyes, Victor’s a more complete striker than Ivan Toney. I believe his style would be better suited to Arsenal too.”
“As soon as Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille, he needed six months to adapt and then after that, he became a real threat and scored a lot of goals.”
“He was key to Napoli winning the Serie A title last season and for the reasons I’ve provided, I would prefer Arsenal to sign Osimhen over Ivan Toney.”
Arsenal would have to wait until the summer to sign Osimhen
If Mikel Arteta’s side were to favour a move for the Nigerian international, they would have to be patient in order to secure his services.
Osimhen has a €130m (£112m) release clause in his new contract but it can only be triggered next summer. It remains to be seen whether Arsenal are prepared to wait that long, considering there is an urgent need to reinforce the frontline.
There will be a lot of competition for Osimhen
The existence of a buyout fee means there will be plenty of teams looking to snap up the 24-year-old. Chelsea have reportedly already held talks with the player’s agent.
Other high-profile clubs, such as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, may also enter the running for Osimhen’s signature. It means that even if the Gunners do hold out until the summer to go after the striker, there is still no guarantee that they will get their man.
