Chelsea's Victor Osimhen pursuit to 'go down to final week of window'

The Blues are seemingly closing in on a deal for Atletico Madrid attacker Samu Omorodion, but the London club are also heavily being linked with Osimhen, with the Nigeria international said to be wanted by Chelsea to lead their line during the 2024-25 campaign.

There has been talk of a potential swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku, as Chelsea are unlikely to be in a position to activate the £113m release clause in his Napoli contract.

Osimhen is Serie A's best-paid player on around £325,000 a week, and he signed a new contract with Napoli in the latter stages of last year, but he is expected to leave the club before the transfer window closes.

According to Romano, Osimhen is not willing to accept a pay cut to move to Stamford Bridge, and a potential transfer for the Nigerian could 'go down to the final week of the window'.

Chelsea 'exploring' summer deal for Osimhen

"Forget about Victor Osimhen taking a pay cut, he won't reduce his salary. This will be a deal I think will go down to the final week of the window," Football Transfers quotes Romano as saying.

Meanwhile, in his Daily Briefing for CaughtOffside, he added: "With Chelsea, I expect nothing will change tomorrow or the next day either, because the situation is still very clear - Chelsea's interest remains, they are having conversations with Napoli, but the only option for them to continue is with a loan or another kind of creative formula."

Paris Saint-Germain also continue to be linked with the 25-year-old, with the French giants seen as Chelsea's main competition when it comes to a deal before the end of the transfer window.

Bringing in Osimhen would certainly be a statement by Chelsea, especially with the club not having Champions League or Europa League football to offer during the 2024-25 campaign.

Why do Chelsea want to sign Osimhen?

Since arriving at Napoli from Lille in September 2020, Osimhen has made 133 appearances for his Italian club, scoring 76 goals and registering 18 assists in all competitions.

The striker was in excellent form during the 2022-23 campaign, scoring 31 goals and registering five assists in 39 appearances, playing a leading role in Napoli winning the Serie A title.

A disappointing 2023-24 Serie A season saw the Blues finish down in 10th spot, but Osimhen still managed 17 goals and four assists in 32 appearances, including 15 goals and three assists in 25 league fixtures.

Osimhen is regarded as one of the best forwards in world football, although a number of clubs have been put off by Napoli's high valuation, with the Italian giants seemingly pointing to his £113m release clause.

Chelsea will begin their 2024-25 Premier League campaign against Manchester City on August 18, with their final friendly of the summer coming on Sunday afternoon against Inter Milan.