Chelsea have made Victor Osimhen their ‘priority objective’ after a deal for Samu Omorodion collapsed.
Chelsea’s deal to sign Omorodion from Atletico Madrid has fallen through after ‘major issues’ in finalising personal terms with the forward, after a £34.5m agreement was reached with the Spanish side.
The deal is now ‘100% off’ according to sources and Chelsea will now turn their attention back to a deal for Osimhen.
Osimhen has made clear his desire to leave Napoli this summer and has held initial talks with Chelsea over a potential move to the Premier League. However, the Nigerian has no interest in a straight loan move to West London and wants any move to include a mandatory purchase option. There has also been complications in terms of the player’s wage demands.
However, El Chiringuito TV journalist Marcos Benito has said Chelsea are now turning their full focus to agreeing a deal for Osimhen in what would represent a statement signing for Enzo Maresca’s side. The 25-year-old has scored 76 goals in 133 appearances for Napoli and was the league’s leading scorer as the Italians won a drought-breaking Serie A title in 2022/23.
Osimhen was named African Footballer of the Year for 2023 and has been public in his desire to move to the Premier League at some stage in his career. Paris Saint-Germain expressed interest in signing Osimhen earlier in the summer but the French champions were reluctant to meet Napoli’s asking price for the player.
Napoli’s interest in signing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea could aid talks between the clubs to find a deal.
Chelsea have also reportedly held talks with Atletico Madrid regarding the return of Joao Felix to Stamford Bridge.
