Ifeanyi Ibeh
Victor Osimhen has been a target for Chelsea for a long while, and their desire to sign him has never wilted. Osimhen remains one of the best strikers on the planet, and it’s a position where The Blues want to add world-class quality. However, his €130 million release clause is too high for Chelsea to trigger, so they’re looking at alternative ways to make a deal possible.
Nigeria international Osimhen, 25, fired Napoli to Serie A success last season. Although the striker missed portions of the 2023/24 campaign due to injury and AFCON, he’s still managed to bag 17 goals in 30 appearances, continuing his great record in front of goal. Chelsea, at times, have missed having a striker who’s a natural finisher, and it’s why they could once again turn their attention to Osimhen.
Recent good form has seen Chelsea make a late charge up the league. Still, if they were to acquire Osimhen’s services, their chances of being a consistent top-six team once again as a very minimum would skyrocket, and this would be reflected by Premier League betting online, which suggests they’re not currently the force of old. But after heavy spending in recent times, The Blues being able to activate Osimhen’s release clause just isn’t possible.
Not being able to get things moving with Osimhen and Napoli via the release clause won’t dampen Chelsea’s admiration for the Super Eagles star, and there’s the suggestion that the club’s powers that be are already considering alternative ways to get the man they’ve chased for some considerable time. The idea for Chelsea is to somehow bring down the cost of buying Osimhen, and the way that makes sense is to offer a player as a makeweight in the deal, and there’s one particular striker they have in mind.
Romelu Lukaku, 30, is currently on loan at Roma from Chelsea after a disappointing second spell with the West London-based outfit. At this time, it appears highly unlikely that the Belgian has a future at Stamford Bridge and that the club would be prepared to move him on this summer. Lukaku himself has found his form again in Serie A, where he did previously with Inter before heading back to Chelsea in a mega-money move, so a switch to Napoli wouldn’t be something you’d see Lukaku being against when Italy’s top-flight continues to prove fruitful on the goals front.
If Napoli were to lose Osimhen, they would undoubtedly need a high-quality replacement, one they can rely on to score goals at the top level in Italy. In 127 Serie A outings, Lukaku has scored sixty-nine times, with twenty-one assists to boot. He’d certainly be a striker who can fill the void left by Osimhen, with Napoli keen to qualify for Europe next season after falling short this. It remains to be seen whether a deal involving Lukaku could see Osimhen head to the Premier League, as cash would still be required, and it still could be too much and out of Chelsea’s reach.
