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Football London
Football London
Sport
Lee Wilmot

How Arsenal missed out on Victor Osimhen transfer for just £3m as Premier League club bids £75m

Victor Osimhen is a name football fans in England will have to get used to hearing in the coming weeks.

Osimhen is a 21-year-old striker who plies his trade for Lille in the French Ligue Un.

And he will be hot property in the summer transfer window after notching 17 goals in 35 appearances for the French team this season in what has truly been a breakthrough campaign.

According to Telefoot in France, Lille have received an offer of €85million (£75million) for him from an unnamed Premier League club already.

The likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham are all reported admirers of the young Nigerian, of whom much was expected a couple of years ago.

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According to Le 10 Sport, Lille placed a €100million (£92.8million) asking price on the Nigeria international, who has a contract at Stade Pierre-Mauroy until the summer of 2024.

That is a fee unlikely to be met by any of the club mentioned, given the financial uncertainty around football in the coronavirus pandemic.

But one club have tested the waters with a £75million offer if the reports in France are to be believed.

Arsenal, however, may just be kicking themselves that they didn't try a little bit harder to convince him to move to the Emirates three years ago, because they could have snared him for just £3million!

The Gunners were in the running for his signature when he left Nigerian side Ultimate Strikers Academy as an 18-year-old, but joined Wolfsburg instead.

And, given how that spell turned out, he might have been better served by moving to north London.

Following the move to the German side, he explained his Arsenal snub, saying: "There were many clubs that were interested in me.

"But my choice was Wolfsburg because I think that my development opportunities are highest here.

"If I had gone to Arsenal, for example, I might not have found the route to the first team so quickly."

Arsenal will have to shell out considerably more this summer if they want to sign him again.

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