Chelsea are “considering” making an offer for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, according to Football.London.
Reports have suggested that the Blues (along with Manchester United and Liverpool) will have a “meeting” with representatives of the player this week to determine whether a deal is possible.
Osimhen is said to favour a move to the Premier League if he leaves Napoli this summer but it is believed that the Serie A champions would want “over £100m” for the forward.
Such an outlay for Chelsea, considering the restrictions of Financial Fair Play, does seem unrealistic so we shall have to wait and see the outcome of the meeting with Osimhen’s agent.
Chelsea are raising funds for transfers through player sales
While Mauricio Pochettino’s side may not have enough money to finance a move for Osimhen at the moment, they are certainly making good headway in terms of offloading unwanted first-team stars.
The sales of Kai Havertz (£65m), Mateo Kovacic (£25m), Kalidou Koulibaly (£17m), Edouard Mendy (£16m) and Hakim Ziyech (£8m) are set to raise around £140m, while, if they do eventually agree to sell Mason Mount, that would move that total close to £200m.
Of course, the arrivals of Christopher Nkunku (£53m) and Nicolas Jackson (£30m) do eat into that figure somewhat so more players may need to be sold in order to make a high enough bid for Osimhen.
Are alternative transfer targets being pursued?
Reports in the Italian media have suggested a fresh enquiry for Juventus forward Dusan Vlahovic has been made and, with the Serbian international’s asking price being €80m (£68.5m), he would be a cheaper alternative to Osimhen.
There have also been suggestions that manager Mauricio Pochettino is keen on recruiting Lautaro Martinez from Inter Milan but, at this stage, no formal approach has been made for the World Cup winner.
