Chelsea are being strongly tipped to secure the signing of Victor Osimhen before the window shuts after a massive triple update from Italy – and with an change of direction from Arsenal leaving the Blues as the sole suitors.
The Blues have continued to invest heavily this summer after bringing in nine summer signings so far, to the total cost of £164.8m. That takes Todd Boehly and his Blue-Co consortium’s spending through the £1.2bn mark since they took charge at Chelsea some 26 months ago – making them the world’s biggest spenders – and by some distance – in that time.
However, the one capture that continues to evade them so far is that of a new big-name, world-class striker, with many feeling the addition of a powerful and reliable No 9 is the only thing separating the Blues from a genuine push for the top four, and possibly the title, once again.
One player who has been strongly mentioned as a target for several months now is Osimhen, though the price-tag on the Napoli No 9 makes him extremely difficult to prise away from the Diego Maradona Stadium.
Having blasted in an impressive 76 goals in 133 matches for Napoli, it is easy to see why the 2023 Serie A champions are placing such a high demand on their talismanic frontman, with president Aurelio De Laurentiis citing the €120m (£103m) exit clause in his deal to would-be suitors.
That has understandably put the likes of Chelsea off, but their hopes have been rekindled in recent days amid confirmation from TEAMtalk correspondent Rudy Galetti that Napoli are now open to discussing a possible swap deal, with the likes of Romelu Lukaku and unwanted keeper Kepa potential makeweights.
Per Galetti, officials from both clubs will meet on Wednesday in an undisclosed location to discuss the formalities around a high-profile trade between the clubs and with Napoli’s asking price now believed to be nearer the €100m (£85.8m) mark.
Furthermore, the reporter has revealed that personal terms – despite what has been suggested elsewhere – are not expected to be an issue for the Blues, who know that by moving on Lukaku and his £325,000 a week salary, can offer a similar package to Osimhen.
And the prospective move has already been given the green light by Blues boss Enzo Maresca, who wants to add a more prolific edge to his attack and help transform the club into genuine top-four contenders once again.
Further light has been shed on the deal by another Italian journalist, Fabrizio Romano, who posted on X, formerly Twitter: “Chelsea have never left the race for Victor Osimhen, despite reports this month.
“Interest has always been and remains there, but Osimhen’s still only open to leaving only on permanent transfer and not reducing his salary. No changes so far.”
Some further context has also been provided by Italian newspaper il Corriere dello Sport, who insist there is a confidence that a deal to take Osimhen to Chelsea ‘will go through’ and that there is a confidence at Stamford Bridge that his blockbuster signing will be finalised.
With Chelsea holding talks over the signing on Wednesday, they have emerged as the clear favourites to secure his signing, with fellow suitors PSG have shifted their focus elsewhere and with Arsenal – also strongly linked with his signature this summer – seemingly backing away from a deal given the vast costs involved.
The Gunners had been urged to bring in Osimhen themselves, with a former Gunners title winner feeling his signing could be the trigger for Arteta’s side to win the 2025 Premier League crown.
However, Arteta’s side are not currently looking into signing the Nigerian and it remains doubtful they will sign a striker at all this summer, despite also having looked into potential deals for both Benjamin Sesko, who opted to remain and sign a new deal with RB Leipzig, and Ivan Toney, though it appears they have gone cold on the Brentford and England man.
Furthermore, it’s been suggested by journalist, Steve Kay, that Arteta is happy to instead pin his faith in last summer’s £65m signing Kai Havertz, with the German impressing in his debut season and potentially earmarked for another central role this time around.
“I’m pretty sure you will see a couple more signings before the end of the window, but Arsenal changed their mind,” Kay said on KS1 TV.
“They had a plan around about January for the summer, the way they wanted to go and the targets they wanted, but all of that changed because of the form of Kai Havertz, what he was doing, the way he was scoring goals and he was doing thinks Mikel Arteta didn’t expect him to do.”
Havertz did indeed enjoy a fine debut season at Emirates Stadium, scoring 14 goals and adding seven assists from 51 appearances in all competitions.
Whether he can match, or even better that tally this time around remains to be seen and the pressure will certainly be on the Germany forward if selected as Arsenal’s main frontline striker this coming season.
