Arsenal become serious challengers for signing of €45m striker good enough to replace Juventus or Napoli marksmen
Arsenal appear to be one of the biggest threats to other clubs wanting to sign a striker who is building up a fine reputation in Serie A, per recent reports.
This season, Arsenal have had Gabriel Jesus and Eddie Nketiah as their main centre-forwards. However, the former was struggling to find the net shortly before he suffered an injury. In his absence, the latter has been a bit hit and miss as well.
Both are good players, without a doubt, but Arsenal are being linked with other strikers who might be able to offer something different.
For example, reports recently emerged suggesting their interest in Atalanta hitman, Rasmus Hojlund. The 20-year-old is enjoying a productive debut season with Atalanta.
So far, he has scored six goals from 19 Serie A games. He has also scored once from two outings in the Coppa Italia.
Given his potential, Arsenal are keeping tabs on him. Their interest has now been backed up by Calciomercato, which reports that Hojlund could already be worth three times the €15million sum that Atalanta paid for him.
In other words, Arsenal may have to fork out €45m to sign him, which would equate to somewhere around £39.6m.
Furthermore, they will have to fend off a range of competition for Hojlund’s signature. According to Calciomercato, the Denmark international is of interest to Real Madrid, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund as well.
But it is believed that Juventus in particular could struggle to compete for Hojlund, thanks in part due to Arsenal’s role in this transfer battle.
Regardless, Juventus have begun speaking to Hojlund’s representatives, per the report. In theory, they believe he could be an ideal successor to Dusan Vlahovic, who has previously been linked with Arsenal, coincidentally.
Arsenal target could replace Osimhen at Napoli
Elsewhere, Napoli have been tipped to enter the race for Hojlund as a replacement for Manchester United and Chelsea target Victor Osimhen.
Journalist Furio Fedele told TMW Radio: “Luciano Spalletti has made him [Osimhen] work with one of his assistants and he has improved a lot.
“He can still improve and reach the same level as Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. If he receives a good offer, Napoli can sell him and buy Hojlund.”
Clearly, Hojlund has plenty of options to consider if he chooses to leave Atalanta at the next available opportunity. His contract in Bergamo is due to last until 2027, but now his current employers have a chance to turn a quick profit.
Whether he is ready to lead the line for a bigger club could be up for question. A rate of scoring once every three games is respectable – and slightly better than Jesus or Nketiah have managed this season – but he will need to maintain and improve his standards in the long run.
Arsenal are likely to have Champions League football on offer next season after how well they have done so far this term. Therefore, joining them would represent a step up for Hojlund.
But if he was to be a rotation player rather than a regular starter, he could be another youngster to develop under Mikel Arteta’s management. Paying around £40m for a backup option, though, may be a risk.
For the time being, Hojlund is someone who looks likely to be monitored consistently by scouts from bigger clubs as the former Copenhagen and Sturm Graz star sets about concluding his first season in Serie A strongly.
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