Galatasaray president reportedly rules out Osimhen sale as Arsenal interest grows
Victor Osimhen’s future has taken another turn amid reported Arsenal interest, with Galatasaray president Dursun Özbek now said to be privately opposed to selling the Nigeria striker.
Metro, citing Turkish outlet 343 Digital, reports that Özbek has told those around him he would not approve a transaction that harms Galatasaray and is unwilling to sell Osimhen regardless of the price offered.
That position is reported rather than an official Galatasaray announcement.
But it adds a significant new layer to a transfer story already fuelled by reports of discussions between Arsenal and Galatasaray.
The verified position remains clear: Osimhen is still a Galatasaray player, Arsenal’s current official transfer list contains no move for him, and no formal Arsenal bid has been confirmed.
Arsenal–Galatasaray discussions put Osimhen in the frame
The Arsenal link did not emerge in isolation.
talkSPORT reports that the two clubs have been discussing players, including Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri, and that Osimhen’s potential availability entered those conversations.
Galatasaray have also made a reported move for Martinelli, although the Brazilian is said to prefer remaining at Arsenal.
That gives the Osimhen story a credible transfer-market foundation.
It still does not amount to a completed negotiation.
The Guardian has separately carried a possible exchange scenario involving Osimhen and Arsenal players, but explicitly inside its transfer-rumour coverage rather than as established business.
The line between those two things matters.
Osimhen has entered the conversation. A deal has not been established.
Özbek report raises the barrier
The latest development shifts the pressure towards Galatasaray’s willingness to sell.
According to the Metro report supplied to IDNN, Özbek is privately taking a much harder position than the transfer speculation surrounding Osimhen might suggest.
If that reported stance holds, Arsenal would not simply need to decide whether they want the Super Eagles forward.
They would have to persuade Galatasaray to engage at all.
That is significant because Osimhen is not a peripheral asset in Istanbul. Galatasaray’s official material continues to place him inside the first-team structure, including a start and goal in the club’s recent pre-season meeting with Villarreal.
The Turkish champions have invested heavily in making him a central part of their sporting project.
A reluctant seller changes the economics and difficulty of any potential deal.
No official Arsenal bid has been confirmed
This is also where the strongest transfer headlines require the most restraint.
Arsenal have not announced a bid or signing.
Their official list of completed 2026/27 business does not include Osimhen.
There is also no official Arsenal or Galatasaray confirmation that the London club submitted a €130 million or £111 million offer.
Reports around a bid at that level have instead been connected elsewhere to Saudi interest, making it unsafe to attribute the figure to Arsenal without stronger evidence.
Likewise, there is no confirmed formal offer in which Martinelli and Nwaneri have been packaged together for Osimhen.
Possible exchange structures have been reported.
A formal swap agreement has not.
Arsenal’s attack makes the question even bigger
Any serious Arsenal move for Osimhen would also arrive against the background of an attack that has already been significantly reshaped.
Arsenal’s own Transfer Centre shows extensive activity around the first team, while its site also records Viktor Gyökeres among previous attacking additions.
That turns the Osimhen question into more than a simple search for a centre-forward.
If Arsenal genuinely escalate their interest, the club would need to decide how another elite striker fits into its current structure — and whether outgoing business creates the space for such a move.
Galatasaray’s interest in Arsenal players makes that possibility worth monitoring.
But possibility is still the operative word.
Osimhen keeps the door from fully closing
The player’s own position has also helped keep the story alive.
After scoring twice in Galatasaray’s opening league draw with Çorum FK, Osimhen was quoted in the editor-supplied Metro report saying he would concentrate on his work while leaving what comes next open.
That is not a transfer request.
Nor is it a declaration that he wants Arsenal.
It does, however, stop the speculation from being closed by an unequivocal player commitment for the remainder of the window.
Why this matters for Nigeria
For Nigerian audiences, Osimhen’s status guarantees enormous interest.
A move to the reigning Premier League champions would immediately become one of the biggest Nigerians Abroad transfers of the window.
But the scale of the player also creates a danger: repeated speculation can quickly acquire the appearance of confirmation.
The current position is stronger when stripped of that inflation.
Arsenal and Galatasaray have reportedly discussed players and Osimhen’s availability has entered that conversation. Galatasaray’s president is now reported to be resisting any sale. Arsenal have not confirmed a bid, and no deal has been established.
That is where the transfer stands.
There is real pressure around Osimhen’s future.
There is not yet a confirmed Arsenal move.
