European giants overtake Arsenal and Man Utd for Nigerian superstar

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 9 Mar 2025 09:17 GMT
• 4 min read

News

Juventus have overtaken Arsenal and Man Utd in the race to sign Victor Osimhen this summer.

Over the last week, Arsenal and United have become locked in a fierce battle for Osimhen's signature this summer, with even Fabrizio Romano reporting that the Nigerian is warming up to the idea of moving to the Premier League.

However, Tuttosport report that Juventus have now made Osimhen their number one target for the striker position and are confident of getting their man.

READ MORE: Latest Man Utd transfer news

The Bianconeri are in the market for a new striker as they plan to sell Dusan Vlahovic, whose contract expires in 2026.

Osimhen is now their top target to replace Vlahovic, and Juventus sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli believes his good relationship with the Nigerian superstar will prove decisive.

Giuntoli is on excellent terms with Osimhen and signed him for Napoli in 2020 while he was sporting director there. Osimhen would like to work with Giuntoli again.

This news comes as a blow to Arsenal and Man Utd, both of whom are desperate to sign a top striker this summer.

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Osimhen joined Galatasaray last summer 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.

Osimhen will leave Napoli permanently in the summer.

The 26-year-old has a release clause in his Napoli contract worth €75 million, for foreign clubs only.

There is also interest from the likes of Chelsea and PSG, but Juventus, Arsenal and Man Utd appear the most interested right now.

He has enjoyed a fantastic season with Galatasaray, already scoring 22 goals in 28 games in all competitions.

Osimhen will leave Napoli

Osimhen has no future at Napoli after falling out with the club last year.

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

The 26-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.