Silve-r lining
Ex-Arsenal star Mikael Silvestre revealed Mikel Arteta should sign striker Victor Osimhen instead of Ivan Toney.
The Spaniard is desperate for a “more complete striker” after his side were knocked out of the FA Cup in their 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
He told GGRecon: “£100 million is extremely high. I know goalscorers are very rare, but that’s too much money for Ivan. I don’t believe that price is a true reflection of his quality.”
However, Osimhen, 25, who has a reported £112million release clause in his contract would be a better value for money for Arteta’s side.
He continued: “In my eyes, Victor’s a more complete striker than Ivan Toney. I believe his style would be better suited to Arsenal too.
“As soon as Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille, he needed six months to adapt and then after that, he became a real threat and scored a lot of goals.
“He was key to Napoli winning the Serie A title last season and for the reasons I’ve provided, I would prefer Arsenal to sign Osimhen over Ivan Toney.”
Dryk shot
Chelsea have reportedly opened talks over a transfer for Girona striker Artem Dovbyk.
The Ukrainian, who is close pals with Mykhailo Mudryk, has been banging in the goals for LaLiga’s surprise package this season.
Girona are joint-top with Real Madrid after 15 wins in 19 games.
And Dovbyk’s 11 strikes, plus a further five assists, means he has a better goal contribution rate than Man City’s Erling Haaland and Liverpool’s Mo Salah.
LaLiga’s Player of the Month for December only cost Girona £6million when he joined from Dnipro last summer on the back of a 29-goal campaign.
But Dovbyk could be on the move this month as Chelsea line up a bid.
El Nacional claims Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino is a huge fan of the 26-year-old.
Fer real?
Rio Ferdinand does not believe Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai deserves all the praise he has received since arriving at Anfield.
Speaking on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel, he said: “I know everyone is hyping him, but I don’t think Dominik Szoboszlai has done [as well as people make out].
“He’s a good player but people are saying ‘oh, he’s the next [Steven] Gerrard!’ and I haven’t seen that yet.
“I see bare of their [fans’] comments. But one of my mates in my group always says it [that he is the next Gerrard].
“But he is easy on the eye.”
Fifty fifty
It has been a thrilling start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign, with battles at both ends of the table starting to heat up.
And as we enter the second half of the season, fans are wondering why only half of the top flight are playing this weekend – SunSport has the reason why.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
