The Victor Osimhen transfer saga continues as clubs line up for his services after Napoli confirmed the striker requested to leave the club.
Sporting director Giovanni Manna addressed Osimhen’s future, saying: “He asked to leave. We are calm because we have players in the squad who can replace him in the best way. However, we do not want to harm the integrity of the group and want to preserve it. We will
Chelsea have been long-term admirers of Osimhen and have been in talks with Napoli over a transfer. The Blues are hopeful of signing the 2022/23 Serie A top scorer in a deal that would see Romelu Lukaku go the opposite way.
Reports this week claimed Chelsea and Napoli were set to meet to discuss a deal that would see Osimhen make the permanent move to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea returned to negotiations with the Italian giants after seeing a £35million deal for Atletico Madrid’s Samu Omorodion collapse.
It’s thought Napoli value Osimhen at around £90m and have offered around £25m in cash for Lukaku, amounting to a £115m all-around deal. However, the Blues still value the Belgian striker at just under £40m which leaves some work to do around the potential fees both sides would end up paying.
With that said, a deal may prove even more difficult given that Osimhen’s preferred destination is not London. According to Sky Sports Germany, the Nigerian has Paris Saint-Germain as his ‘desired destination.’
It’s said he is not ‘currently pushing’ for a move to the Premier League, despite Arsenal also making an approach ‘weeks ago.’ However, there is a stumbling block in a potential deal materialising.
PSG cannot proceed to sign Osimhen until either Kolo Muani or Goncalo Ramos are sold. Both players remain under contract until the summer of 2028.
The next couple of weeks will be key for clubs as they look to complete a deal before the window slams shut on August 30. Osimhen meanwhile, is not set to play a part in Napoli’s new season despite training with his teammates.
The club’s stance on the striker has been clear in recent weeks after he was left out of friendly fixtures. Manager Antonio Conte, who took over earlier this year, gave the biggest statement of intent to date when not including the forward even on the bench for the game against Modena.
