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Lille have received 'multiple offers' for Arsenal and Tottenham transfer target Victor Osimhen, owner says

AFP via Getty Images
AFP via Getty Images

Lille owner Gerard Lopez has offered an update on the future of Victor Osimhen, the club's talented young striker who has been linked with multiple clubs across Europe including north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham.

Following a summer switch from Belgian top-flight outfit Charleroi, Osimhen had flourished at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy before the 2019-20 Ligue 1 season was prematurely cancelled as a result of the coronavirus crisis, netting 18 goals in 38 appearances across all competitions for Christophe Galtier's men.

Such an impressive run of form saw Lille occupy fourth spot at the time the French domestic season was curtailed, while he also showed his quality with goals in Champions League outings against both Chelsea and Valencia.

Despite having been in northern France for less than a year, Osimhen's exploits have already seen him heavily linked with a departure from Lille, with Arsenal, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Barcelona among the long list of clubs mentioned in regards to a potential swoop for the 21-year-old, who has previously said he turned down the chance to join the Gunners as a teenager.

And speaking to the Daily Mail about the future of the club's prized asset, Lille owner Lopez admitted that plenty of offers have already been received ahead of the next window after two were initially rebuffed in January.

"There are multiple offers," he said. 'We turned down one English and one Spanish offer this January transfer window.

"There is a wide array [this summer] and I wouldn't want to give the names of the clubs who are bidding but what I can tell you is that there are multiple [offers]. There are three championships that have clubs that have bid for him."

Lille banked £72m from Arsenal for Ivorian forward Nicolas Pepe during the last summer window and Lopez appears to be expecting to receive a similarly hefty fee for Osimhen.

He added: "I am not being a sales guy because last year people didn't believe that we had the offers we had with [Nicolas] Pepe and it turns out we had multiple of them.

"Let me tell you with Osimhen, it is the same thing, whatever number you heard, the high number I have read is very much on the money of the offers that we have received. That's where we are."

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