Chelsea’s No.1 striker target could soon be available as club eye Arsenal forward to replace him

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Napoli now appear willing to sell Victor Osimhen to Chelsea this summer as they target Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun to replace him.

That is according to the Mirror.

If the rumour is true, Mauricio Pochettino will surely be hoping a deal materialises between Arsenal and Napoli, as he is said to be a huge fan of Victor Osimhen.

What’s the story?

Well – according to 90min – the Argentine loves the Nigeria international, and has made him the No.1 striker target after replacing Frank Lampard at Stamford Bridge.

A story from Il Matino in Italy claimed that Napoli are demanding £150m for their No.9 – which Chelsea will surely want to negotiate down – so that could be a potential sticking point.

Nevertheless, the fact Napoli are targeting Balogun offers signs of encouragement.

If the Italian champions had absolutely no intention of selling Osimhen, they wouldn’t be looking at the Arsenal wonderkid to step into his shoes.

Balogun is someone capable of moving to Naples and making an immediate impact, having scored 21 goals in 38 appearances across the 2022/23 campaign.

It isn’t quite the 30 goals in 38 games Osimhen scored throughout the 2022/23 season, but at the age of just 21, Napoli would be buying someone with the potential to match that tally in the coming years.

Chelsea need to begin Osimhen pursuit soon

As things stand, it seems as if Pochettino’s priority is to wrap up a deal for Manuel Ugarte.

Portuguese news outlet Record believe Chelsea are willing to pay the Uruguay international’s £52m release clause, while O Jogo believe the Argentine is putting pressure on Todd Boehly to wrap things up quickly as PSG are also keen.

When the saga involving Ugarte ends, Pochettino and Chelsea simply have to start focusing on Osimhen, as the Blues are in desperate need of a quality No.9 if they want to be competitive next season.

The longer Chelsea wait to begin their pursuit of the Nigerian, the harder it will be to agree a deal for him, or for an alternative option if Napoli refuse to lower their asking price.