Chelsea are trying to be really creative in their bid to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.
It will be an expensive operation, but Chelsea are not giving up and seem to have formulated a plan to land Victor Osimhen.
They face competition from Al-Ahli, though, who appear to be just as eager as them to sign the 25-year-old.
Al-Ahli are ready to hand Osimhen a release clause as they try to convince him to snub Chelsea for them.
Sky Sports give update on Victor Osimhen to Chelsea
Despite Al-Ahli sniffing around, right now, Chelsea still appear to have a good chance of signing Osimhen.
Sky Sports journalist Gail Davis is at Stamford Bridge and shared that there have been “significant developments”, with Chelsea and Osimhen both open to considering a loan with an obligation to buy.
Speaking on Sky Sports (30/08/2024 at 07:08), the reporter said: “What we know is that Chelsea would like a striker. There are two main runners. At the moment we don’t know which one might be here at the end of the day but significant developments in the transfer of Victor Osimhen late last night, very early this morning.
“Chelsea and the Napoli star would consider a loan with an obligation to buy. Effectively that means it’s a permanent move but it means not everything has to take place right now. Osimhen signed that contract at Napoli just over a year ago and his release clause is 130 million euros and he’s on huge, huge wages alongside that.
“Chelsea unsurprisingly didn’t want to pay that out. What we know is that Al-Ahli have put a very lucrative offer on the table to him and the deadline for that doesn’t shut until 11:59pm on Monday evening, so there is still room if he doesn’t come here but his agent has said that he has unfinished business in Europe.
“What a prospect if he does come over to the Premier League. I think Chelsea fans could get very, very excited with this one if they can get this one over the line before the deadline.”
Ivan Toney Chelsea’s main other runner
Sky Sports claims that Chelsea have two main targets for the striker position right now, with Brentford’s Ivan Toney the other.
Chelsea could submit an offer for Toney, though that is going to hinge on whether they sign Osimhen or not.
The club have also been linked with other centre-forwards recently, including Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
It has been reported that Calvert-Lewin is a back-up option to Osimhen, but it would be quite underwhelming if Chelsea went from the Napoli talisman to the Everton player.
Calvert-Lewin has had a lot of injuries lately and has not really been prolific in front of goal over the last few seasons. For example, last term, the 27-year-old only managed to score seven times in 32 Premier League appearances.
He would add an extra body to a squad that probably does need another centre-forward. However, Calvert-Lewin will not be an upgrade on Nicolas Jackson, who managed to net 14 times in the top flight during the 2023/24 campaign. Ultimately, it has got to be Osimhen or Toney for Chelsea.
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