Chelsea have been tipped to sign Victor Osimhen next year after his fallout with Napoli over the last few days, according to Italian outlet Calciomercato.
After a row with new manager Rudi Garcia and some questionable posts regarding the striker from the Serie A giants’ official TikTok account, the striker removed all photos of himself in a Napoli shirt from his social media account.
The relationship between the two parties seems to be at breaking point and understandably it’s led to speculation that Osimhen will leave the Serie A champions in 2024.
Chelsea have been strongly linked with Osimhen in recent months and CalcioMercato says a move to Stamford Bridge is the most ‘logical solution’ for the Nigerian if he were to leave Napoli in the coming transfer windows.
This summer, the Italian outfit’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, had set a price tag of at least £103 million for their star striker after his heroics led them to their first title in over 30 years.
The Nigerian was pivotal to Napoli’s success under Luciano Spalletti as they won the Scudetto, scoring 31 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions.
Osimhen and Napoli were recently discussing extending his current contract, which is set to expire in the summer of 2025. However, his long-term future at the club is no in serious doubt following the events of the past week.
An opportunity for Chelsea
At Chelsea, the striking department has been underwhelming for several years now and the Blues have been unable to find a good replacement for Diego Costa, who fired them to the Premier League title in 2015 and 2017.
At the moment, Mauricio Pochettino has to rely on Nicolas Jackson, signed from Villarreal this summer, to find the back of the net, with Christopher Nkunku on the sidelines with a serious injury.
However, the Senegal international has left a lot to be desired in front of goal for the Blues in recent weeks, although the 22-year-old’s strike was the difference as Chelsea beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 in the third round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Despite this, it’s clear Chelsea still need a world class striker and Osimhen would be a sensational addition to Pochettino’s side as he would solve their goal-scoring issues.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this saga plays out over the coming months….
