…As Sterling Makes Shock Move To Arsenal
Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen’s proposed move from Napoli to Chelsea has collapsed.
The 26-year-old has been linked with a move to the Blues, despite keen interest from Al Ahli.
However, Osimhen was not able to reach an agreement with the Premier League.
This leaves the Nigerian striker’s future up in the air, as he has been frozen out by Antonio Conte in Naples.
Conte has also brought in Romelu Lukaku to lead his attack this season.
There is little hope that Osimhen could yet leave Italy, as the transfer window in Saudi Arabia closes on Monday, September 2.
Al Ahli are ready to pay Napoli between €75/80m for Osimhen.
They have also offered the player a four-year contract, which will see him earn around £33.6m (€40m) a season – or £646,154 per-week – tax-free.
Meanwhile, Arsenal director of football, Edu Gasper, has admitted the club did not plan to sign Raheem Sterling from Chelsea.
The Gunners completed a deadline-day loan deal for Sterling on Friday night.
Edu, speaking after the deal was confirmed, said the 29-year-old was a market opportunity they took.
He said: “Well to be fair, we never planned really to sign him when we started the transfer window, just to be very transparent, for different reasons, but we always say to everyone that you have to be prepared for every single scenario.
“When that opportunity came to me and I checked the squad, I checked how he plays and spoke to Mikel [Arteta] of course. I spoke to Tim [Lewis], our vice-chairman, to check if everyone is comfortable for the step we are going to take.
“It makes a lot of sense to have someone like him because I’m pretty sure he is going to add a lot in the squad.”
