Chelsea are ‘out of race to sign Victor Osimhen’ over £111m price tag as they turn to Spanish-born Nigerian striker Samu Omorodion

Chelsea have reportedly withdrawn out of the race to recruit Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen from Napoli in favour of Spanish-born Nigerian forward Samu Omorodion.

Mail Sport stated that Chelsea and Atletico Madrid are in talks over Omorodion, who is expected to cost the Blues £30 million despite scoring only nine goals in 35 LaLiga outings while on loan with Alaves.

Chelsea have been widely connected with a move for Osimhen in recent transfer windows, with a swap deal including Romelu Lukaku and cash being discussed. However, Osimhen’s release clause of £111 million has made the transaction impossible to seal.

With Chelsea moving on from Osimhen, Sky Italy reports that Arsenal could now pursue a bid for the Nigerian striker.

According to the source, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, and Saudi Arabian clubs are all interested in Osimhen, who has 76 goals in 133 Napoli games.

The 25-year-old has yet to play a single pre-season game for Napoli under new manager Antonio Conte.

If Arsenal triggers Osimhen’s release clause, it will break the club’s transfer record, set only a year ago when they paid £105 million for midfielder Declan Rice.