Chelsea failed their first test of the Premier League season as they were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City. Erling Haaland and Mateo Kovacic made the difference and even though the Blues had a number of chances to score, the absence of a potent finisher was very much visible in the team.
They have shown an interest in signing Victor Osimhen from Napoli this summer, however, there have been fears that Arsenal or most recently, Paris Saint-Germain, could hijack a move for the Nigerian.
TEAMTalk has claimed that Chelsea have now been granted a ‘clear path’ in their bid to sign Osimhen with PSG backing out of the race to sign him. Luis Enrique is set to place his faith in Goncalo Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani for the season, while Arsenal have cooled their interest in Osimhen, leaving the Pensioners as the striker’s only option for the summer.
Even though there was interest in his services from Saudi Arabia previously, Osimhen’s preference is to stay in Europe although his price tag has meant that a number of clubs have been priced out of a move.
Napoli have lowered their demands from north of £100 million to £85.2 million now and it looks like Osimhen’s future could be resolved very soon, as per TEAMTalk.
Chelsea in talks over Osimhen
Having spent a massive sum in yet another transfer window, there is practically no way for Chelsea to be able to afford Osimhen without using some first-team men as sacrificial pawns. Romelu Lukaku is the biggest of them with Napoli keen on welcoming him aboard Antonio Conte’s squad.
The two clubs are in talks to try and get both deals over the line. Cesare Casadei and Kepa Arrizabalaga have also emerged into the equation of late, as per TEAMTalk’s report, though it remains to be seen which other players apart from Lukaku appeal to the Partenopei.
Osimhen had 17 goals and four assists last season but is not a part of Conte’s plans as he sorts his future out. With Lukaku keen on a reunion with the former Inter Milan coach, all the parties involved might make certain compromises to get the domino across the line before the end of the transfer window.
PSG backing out of Osimhen’s deal comes as a big boost to Chelsea and they could be massively improved by the 25-year-old’s transfer having nearly wrapped up a move for Joao Felix too.
