3 months ago
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Chelsea are reportedly gearing up for transfer talks with Napoli’s sporting director, Giovanni Manna, this week to discuss a potential move for Victor Osimhen, reports dailystar.co.uk.
The Blues have decided to make the Nigerian striker their primary target with just two-and-a-half weeks of the summer transfer window remaining.
Manna is already on UK soil to negotiate Napoli’s bid for Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour. And the Napoli director is also set to continue talks with Chelsea over Romelu Lukaku, who could swap places with Osimhen.
Napoli’s boss Antonio Conte is reportedly eager for a reunion with the Belgian star, having previously coaxed out his best performances at Inter Milan.
According to Di Marzio, there has been a breakthrough at Chelsea, with sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart having agreed to sign off on bringing Osimhen to Stamford Bridge. The 25-year-old is reportedly open to signing, but he insists the move be a permanent one rather than a loan.
Osimhen has a £111 million release clause included in his Napoli contract.
Chelsea are not only faced with coughing up a staggering nine-figure sum for the striker, but also negotiating a salary, which could shatter their existing wage structure.
PSG are sniffing around Osimhen too, keen to replace Kylian Mbappe who joined Real Madrid this summer.
“Victor Osimhen has asked to leave the club,” Manna said. “He wants to go. The situation is clear, there were already chances for his exit last summer. Victor wants to leave.”
We will see.”
Napoli, who shelled out a hefty sum north of £65m for Osimhen back in 2020 from Lille, stand to fill their coffers by selling the Nigerian this summer. The 25-year-old fired Napoli to the Serie A title during the 2022/23 season, scoring 26 goals in 32 games.
He skipped Napoli’s Coppa Italia victory against Modena, on Saturday and kept his distance from training this week with his future up in the air.
Chelsea, who ended up sixth last term, had Nicolas Jackson leading the line most of the season. But if talks with the Blues go well, Jackson might find himself sitting on the bench behind Osimhen this term.
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