From Osimhen to Toney - comparing the strikers Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd sides can sign this summer

This summer’s transfer window, for the Premier League’s biggest clubs at least, is going to be all about the strikers. Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are all reported to be in the market for a big-name signing for the number nine role, and there are several very good – but very expensive – players whose names are coming up on the rumour mill week after week. But of all the options available, which is the best?

We’ve run the rule over the biggest names linked with a move to the Premier League – from Victor Osimhen to Ivan Toney - to see which strikers clubs should be in for, which players would suit which teams, and why.

Victor Osimhen - Napoli

Probably the biggest prize on the market – Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain have all been linked with a summer move for the Nigerian striker whose goals propelled Napoli to the Scudetto last season. The bidding war for his services will be fierce.

And while Napoli’s performances have tailed off after last season’s success, Osimhen is still firing despite an early season dip in form. He’s bagged 13 goals in 22 games over the course of the campaign, which is a slight drop-off from the mark of 31 in 39 he set last time out, but that won’t be enough to dissuade the richest clubs in the world from doing everything they can to sign him.

Complicating matters is the fact that Osimhen signed a new contract in December which will tie him to Napoli until 2026 – but few pundits believe that he won’t leave if given the chance. It’s been suggested that £120m is the price tag which would tempt Napoli into selling their star player, which would make him the most expensive striker on the market.

Osimhen is the kind of forward who looks to play off the shoulder of the last man and find space down the channels, and he isn’t a striker who would suit teams who want their number nine to drop back and link up play around them. That doesn’t really apply to Chelea or United, but Arsenal do want a forward who can play quick one-twos with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli – Osimhen only plays 13 passes per game on average.

The Gunners would probably not be the most ideal fit, then, as he doesn’t offer them everything they want in a forward, but he does offer goals, pace and movement, so they would make it work, much as Manchester City have with Erling Haaland. Osimhen is the best that money can buy when it comes to finding space in the box and his finishing is superb. The best buy for any club, if they can win the race.

Viktor Gyökeres – Sporting

Repeatedly linked with Arsenal in particular, the Swedish striker was one that got away from the Premier League after his impressive goalscoring exploits in the Championship with Coventry City – it was Sporting Lisbon who took a chance on him, and they’ve been repaid with an astonishing 23 goals in 29 games with nine assists on top.

Unlike Osimhen, Gyökeres also likes to get involved in the build-up and looks to find gaps between midfield and defence to exploit, and he’s an excellent passer with a knack for quick exchanges around the edge of the area. He’s also hugely energetic and plays a big part in Sporting’s high press – teams looking to win the ball back high up the park would be well advised to take a good look.

All of which explains why Arsenal are so keen – but the price tag, reported to be up to £90m to meet his release clause, is massive for a player who has yet to prove that his goalscoring exploits extend to the very highest level. Nevertheless, he’d suit Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs pretty well. United, who don’t tend to get their attacking players very close together under Erik ten Hag, would make less sense.

Joshua Zirkzee – Bologna

Zirkzee came through the ranks at Bayern Munich but it’s in Italy where he’s found his form after a slow start at Bologna. He’s bagged 10 goals in 26 Serie A games so far and has three assists on top.

Which is, of course, rather fewer goals than players like Osimhen and Gyökeres, but that hasn’t stopped his name coming up a lot, especially with regards to United and Liverpool. He’s not a real number nine, in truth, but more of a ten or a false nine who looks to find pockets of space around the area rather than in it.

That makes sense given his profile – he’s not especially quick nor a truly great finisher, which means he won’t have much joy playing off the last man or in a team playing a direct style, which means the link to United seems distinctly odd given the way they set up right now. They likely see him as a wide forward who can compete with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, but his relative like of speed means he’d be a square peg in a round hole at Old Trafford as it stands. A tactical rethink could change all that, of course, but right now he'd only really make sense in Bruno Fernandes' position, which is hardly a desperate need.

He'd make more sense for a team like Liverpool, whose needs are less about volume of goals and more about finding someone who can link up the front three in the way Roberto Firmino used to. There, his touch, dribbling skills and eye for a pass would shine. He’d probably work well at Arsenal, too, but teams who really need a striker who can score 20 or more times a season should probably look elsewhere.

Serhou Guirassy – VfB Stuttgart

The 27-year-old Guinean striker burst into the European football consciousness by scoring 10 goals in his first five Bundesliga games this season, and has remained consistent over the rest of the season, notching up his 20th goal against Wolfsburg last weekend.

It was a genuine surprise that he didn’t move in January – he had a release clause which has now expired which would have allowed him to leave for a reported £15m – but it’s likely that his name will come up again in the summer.

Unlike the other forwards whose names are being bandied about, Guirassy is a natural target man. He’s strong, good in the air and holds the ball up superbly as well as being superb at getting half a yard on his man – and his finishing is beyond reproach.

He wouldn’t suit a side like Arsenal that want a mobile striker to ply the channels, but he could suit a team like Spurs who could use a player who can do some of Harry Kane’s old work and give the nippy wingers around him balls to feed off. Chelsea would probably be a good landing spot, as well, for similar reasons – they need goals, and they need good service to players like Raheem Sterling. Guirassy can offer both.

Ivan Toney – Brentford

Toney doesn’t seem to have missed a beat since returning from an eight-month suspension for gambling infractions. The 27-year-old has already picked up four goals in his first eight Premier League games since making his comeback and Thomas Frank’s seemingly ambitious £100m valuation isn’t looking quite so excessive after all.

It would still need a massive bid to prise Toney away from Brentford, assuming they avoid relegation, but that’s the going rate for a striker who has the proven ability to score 20 goals a season.

A natural finisher with an impressive physical profile, the only real deficiency Toney has is that he isn’t the best in the build-up. Like Osimhen, he’s at his best as the last man getting on the end of balls and trying to break the offside trap, and his pass completion rate is pretty awful. A team like Arsenal, who need a link-up man as much as they need a goalscorer to make sure they get the best out of their superb wide forwards, does not seem like the most natural home.

Chelsea would probably make the most sense, and given that they may struggle to attract Osimhen without European football, perhaps the most likely too. He’d give them the reliable goalscorer they need and feed on all the through balls that Cole Palmer plays so well.