Chelsea will reportedly go all out to sign Napoli forward Victor Osimhen in the January transfer market. Blues owner Todd Boehly has certainly not been afraid to spend significant money since purchasing the team. In fact, the west London club has recorded a net spend of nearly $800 million since the summer of 2022.
According to FootballTransfers, Boehly is ready to essentially pay whatever Napoli wants in order to sign the star striker. Potentially purchasing Osimhen would likely cost any club at least $175 million. The Nigerian is widely regarded as one of the top center forwards in the world and would seemingly improve just about any team. The 24-year-old forward has six goals in 11 Serie A matches during the current campaign.
Osimhen’s relationship with Napoli hit a bit of a snag earlier in the season. The club’s social media team previously mocked the player in a post on TikTok back in September. The post was quickly deleted, but the damage may have already been done. Osimhen’s agent claimed that he would possibly pursue legal action against Napoli at the time.
As a result of the blunder, multiple teams have since been linked the striker. Several Saudi clubs quickly began exploring the possibility of targeting Osimhen in January. Al Hilal previously attempted to sign the striker during the summer market. However, Napoli reportedly rejected the $154 million offer. Osimhen himself then claimed that he would rather play in Major League Soccer than move to the Middle East.
Osimhen’s precarious position with Napoli is more complex due to his contract situation. The star’s current deal is in place until the summer of 2025. While the two sides have held talks to extend his stay in Italy, nothing has been finalized as of yet. Assuming these discussions continue to stall, Napoli may have to sell their center forward, rather than risk seeing him walk away for free.
Despite spending massive amounts of money, Chelsea is still struggling in the Premier League. In fact, the Blues entered the weekend sitting 10th in the table, 11 points from a Champions League place. One of the biggest concerns for the club is the lack of goals during the current campaign.
The club’s current high scorer in league play is new signing Nicolas Jackson. While he has scored six goals, three of these strikes came during a matchup with nine-man Tottenham Hotspur. Jackson also has recorded 10 big chances missed this season as well. The Senegal international arrived from Villarreal in July for around $40 million.
With confidence seemingly low in Jackson, Chelsea would love to entice Osimhen to make the move to west London. There are, however, several hurdles for the club to clear before deals are possible. For starters, the Blues need to be weary of Financial Fair Play (FFP) restrictions. Ownership has spent a fortune and has to be aware of the league’s rules regarding transfer spending. One way to help this could be to sell select players currently in the team.
Another issue for Chelsea is the fact that other teams want to sign Osimhen as well. Rivals Arsenal and Liverpool hold an interest in the Napoli star too. Paris Saint-Germain would also likely consider him a possible replacement for Kylian Mbappe.
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