Victor Osimhen to Arsenal in January: The state of play

Carlo Garganese

18 Sept 2024 12:50 BST
3 min read

Victor Osimhen, Arsenal, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

There is no chance that Arsenal will activate Victor Osimhen’s break clause at Galatasaray during the January transfer window.

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That is according to Arsenal transfer expert Charles Watts, who says that the Gunners have no interest in signing Osimhen in the winter window.

Osimhen joined Galatasaray in a shock loan from Napoli after a deadline day transfer to Chelsea (and to Saudi Arabia) failed to be completed.

Napoli inserted a break clause in his Galatasaray contract which will allow the Italians to sell the striker during the January transfer window.

Thus, Arsenal would be able to theoretically sign Osimhen in January, although Galatasaray would also receive a fee.

But, according to Watts, Arsenal have no interest and manager Mikel Arteta is more than happy to continue with Kai Havertz as a false 9 for the entirety of this season.

CaughtOffside has reported, though, that Chelsea could return to make another bid for Osimhen in January.

Osimhen to Galatasaray on loan

Osimhen joined Galatasaray on loan for the season from Napoli until June 2025.

It is a dry loan with Galatasaray simply covering his salary from September until June at a cost of €10 million.

He made his Galatasaray debut on Saturday in the 5-0 win over Rizespor, assisting a goal.

Galatasaray opened negotiations for Osimhen after the Nigerian failed to complete a transfer before the end of the main European transfer window.

Osimhen saw Deadline day transfers to Al-Ahli and Chelsea collapse for financial reasons.

The attacker had spent the entire summer searching for a new club and sacked his agent when this wasn’t forthcoming.

The 25-year-old had been frozen out of the squad at Napoli, with no chance of being reintegrated under new manager Antonio Conte.

Instead of spending the entire first half of the season training on his own, Osimhen opted to join Galatasaray on loan.

Osimhen saw his relationship with Napoli sour last season, following the TikTok scandal in which the club’s own social media team mocked his penalty miss with Bologna.

Osimhen had a largely difficult season on the pitch, while Napoli endured a disastrous defence of the Scudetto they won in the 2022-23 season as they finished 10th in Serie A.

The Nigerian had been a key player in the Scudetto campaign, scoring 26 league goals in 32 games.