According to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Chelsea are still pushing to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen this summer.
The London giants had a dismal 2022/23 campaign and they are currently on course to finish in the bottom half of the Premier League standings.
Chelsea have looked short up front with the lack of a goalscoring number nine and Plettenberg claims that they are ‘still pushing’ for Osimhen.
However, a transfer is complicated. Napoli want £130 million at least while the lack of Champions League football is another blow for Chelsea.
Difficult deal
Osimhen has had a tremendous season at Napoli. He has netted 28 goals and provided 5 assists from 37 outings so far.
The Nigerian has been crucial to Napoli’s title-winning season in Serie A and the Italian club will want a premium fee to sanction his summer exit.
Chelsea are one of the clubs capable of paying the sum but as Plettenberg said, they will have to recoup most of the transfer fee from player sales.
After spending a huge £600 million in the last 12 months, the club are at a high risk of breaking the Financial Fair Play limit.
They need to gain funds to balance their books and that could happen before they lodge an approach for the Napoli star.
Even then, there is no guarantee that the striker will choose to join them during the summer transfer window.
Osimhen has spoken about his Premier League dream but there are other clubs capable of signing him too.
Manchester United are one of his admirers and they could trump Chelsea in the race with Champions League football.
Erik ten Hag’s men need just one point from their last two league games to finish in the Premier League top four.
United could have a huge advantage over Chelsea with Champions League qualification for next season.
