Chelsea have been given a boost to their hopes of signing Victor Osimhen. The 25-year-old striker has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge for a while now as Enzo Maresca looks to strengthen his frontline.
Osimhen, who sees his contract at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona expire in June 2026, featured 25 times for Napoli in the Serie A last season, scoring 15 and setting up three. Despite enjoying a respectable return in front of goal, the Nigeria international couldn’t secure the Italian outfit European football.
Instead, Gli Azzurri finished tenth – 41 fewer points than Inter Milan, who dethroned them as Scudetto champions. Nevertheless, football.london understands that Chelsea are keen to sign a new striker this summer, but they won’t pay what they deem to be ‘over the odds’ or ‘panic buy’ in the latter stages of the window.
While Osimhen may command an eye-watering fee, the Napoli director has confirmed there will be ‘movement’. Speaking to reporters over the weekend, as quoted by TeamTalk, Giovanni Manna said: “We aimed to provide the coach with a competitive team from the first days of training camp to immediately tackle the championship.
“There will be movements, as there is still a month of the market left, and we might make some additions. This is a process, a project starting this year with the coach at its centre.
“We share a strategy with the club, and we are calm and clear-headed. We will not make any reckless moves but will make decisions that support our technical and tactical ideas.”
Last month, Conte revealed the club’s ‘agreement’ with Osimhen. The former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss said: “As far as Osimhen is concerned, just as I knew very well about the situation of Kvara, Di Lorenzo, Anguissa, Lobotka, on which I have placed an absolute veto.
“Having said that, I know what the situation is regarding Osimhen. I know that there are agreements, that it is a situation different from all the others. I can only assist.
“He is a player of the highest level, exceptional, but I cannot enter into any discussion because it is part of previous agreements which have been clearly stated to me.”
