English Premier League side, Chelsea, are progressing in their pursuit of Super Eagles and Napoli striker, Victor James Osimhen, Soccernet.ng reports.
Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal have been linked with the former Wolfsburg man, but none of them could conjure up Napoli’s asking price of €130m.
Chelsea looked to have had a deal in place with Atletico De Madrid for Samu Omorodion, but the transfer fell through in the final minutes, re-opening a window for the Blues to discuss a deal for Osimhen.
According to the Scottish Sun, Chelsea are on the verge of completing an £85m deal for Victor Osimhen in an extraordinary player-swap deal.
The report stated Chelsea will include Romelu Lukaku and former Leicester City midfielder, Cesare Casadei, plus a further £39m to seal the transfer.
Antonio Conte is keen on signing Lukaku before the transfer window shuts on the last day of this month, and Osimhen is open to moving to London as long as the deal is permanent.
Chelsea’s billionaire owner, Todd Boehly, has already spent £152m this summer, bringing in the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Marc Guiu, Pedro Neto and Jorgensen. Since the American took over at the club, the two-time UEFA Champions League winners have spent £1.114b on bringing players in.
With Omorodion’s deal off the table, Enzo Maresca wants another striker to lead the line ahead of Nicolas Jackson, and Osimhen fits the ideal profile for Pep Guardiola’s ex-assistant.
The swap deal would represent a staggering loss for Chelsea, effectively getting £46m for two players who cost them a combined £114.5m in the last three years. Lukaku’s £97.5m transfer from Inter Milan in 2021 was just shy of the Premier League record at the time. Since then, Chelsea have brought in Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo for a combined fee of £202.97m.
However, the club will be looking to get Lukaku off their wage books as the Belgian forward earns a weekly wage of £325,000, and his departure will free a whopping £17 million in Chelsea’s books.