Arsenal are currently being linked with a move to sign Victor Osimhen from Lille, but could Arsene Wenger have done more to sign him in 2015?
The 21 year-old joined Nicolas Pepe’s former club last summer in a supposed €12 Million move, and made an instant impact in France, scoring 18 goals so far in his debut campaign with the club.
He’s already being touted for another move in the coming window, with Arsenal supposedly interested in the explosive striker, but Lille are said to value the striker at a whopping €80 Million.
Such a fee would likely be considered a huge risk, although if the young Nigerian could have a similar impact in England as he has in France it wouldn’t take him very long to repay that faith in him.
The player himself has now admitted that he could have joined our club in 2015 after he thoroughly impressed in the Under-17 World Cup, but after holding talks with Arsene Wenger he opted to move to Germany instead.
That move to join Wolfsburg didn’t quite work out however, with Osimhen failing to score a single goal with the club in any of his 14 senior appearances, although minutes were limited.
He has since impressed in both Belgium and Ligue 1 and is open to a move to a top Premier League side in the future, but remains grounded as he prioritises regular playing time.
“I spoke with Arsene Wenger after the tournament ended and he wanted me to come to Arsenal,” Osimhen claimed. “I had a lot of options. Barcelona, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and the rest.
“Arsenal was a good option but it wasn’t the best at the time. I wanted to start playing as soon as I turned 18.
“I wanted to go to a place where I had time to invest in my game and improve physically. Wolfsburg showed me that possibility.”
“Of course, one day I’d like to play for a big club in England,” Osimhen added.
“I’ve spoken to Odion [Ighalo] about it. He gave me very good advice, he’s a legend and a big brother. My goal is to play at one of the biggest clubs in the world but now I’m very happy in Lille.
“My priority is to play a lot of games. Signing for a big club and being on the bench is not exciting for me.”
Could Arsene Wenger have done more to convince him that he would get his chance at Arsenal? Should our club stump up the fee needed to persuade Lille to part with their impressive young striker?
Patrick
Every time they speak to Aw they change their mind.Messi,Ibra,CR7….etc,etc
Yeah! Sure! Lets just write a cheque for “80 mill euros”. Then we can cure Corona, get world peace, banish all war and cure climate change, and all before lunch. In the afternoon we can all go out for a fly to the moon and then, oh ,wasnt that a lovely dream!
How many more players are we going to be “linked ” with ( whataver that means ) or “reported” to be keen on signing. This guy Patrick who writes these articles must know a hell of a lot of people, but nobody at the club who knows I suspect. I imagine when we do get back to playing it’s going to be very quiet on the transfer front.
If the words attributed to the player are true (no reason to doubt otherwise) this is not another player we were supposedly linked with, it actually happened.
What I don’t understand is why the question regarding Wenger is being asked..
The player himself says Arsenal wasn’t the best option at the time, so his position couldn’t have been clearer – he didn’t want to sign.
End of wouldn’t you say???