According to journalist Simon Phillips, Chelsea could make an approach to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen in the summer transfer window.
The London giants have spent a staggering £540 million on players since their takeover from Clearlake Capital Group last summer but they are still lacking a dominant striker.
Osimhen has been constantly linked with Chelsea and speaking to Givemesport, Phillips has said that the new owners continue to remain admirers of the Nigerian star.
He said: “There’s not been any contacts necessarily made with Osimhen’s people at the moment, at this stage.”
“There’s a long way to go until the summer, but the one thing I can add about the Osimhen story is that Chelsea have always liked him. They liked him under the former ownership and they like him again now.”
Solution
Chelsea have lacked the presence of a regular goalscoring forward since Eden Hazard’s exit. In terms of a striker, Diego Costa was the last one to score 20 Premier League goals for them.
Graham Potter’s side need a long-term solution this summer. An agreement is already in place to sign RB Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku, who should provide more goals for Chelsea next season.
However, they also require a genuine number nine with a good scoring record. Osimhen would be a perfect buy as he possesses pace, physical strength and has excellent finishing skills in the box.
The 24-year-old has scored 18 goals and provided 4 assists in 22 matches for Napoli this season. He is in the peak phase of his career and has all the attributes to become a world-class marksman.
Chelsea look to be interested in signing him ahead of the summer transfer window but they face a huge hurdle in the form of Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis, who won’t let Osimhen go easily.
De Laurentiis kept hold of Kalidou Koulibaly for several years before selling him to Chelsea last summer. It has been reported that interested clubs must fork out a massive fee of £133 million to sign Osimhen, so Chelsea would need to break the British transfer record again to land him.
