‘The only club’: President suggests Chelsea can’t afford to sign 24-year-old player from his side

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Aurelio De Laurentiis – President of Napoli – has been speaking about his No.9 Victor Osimhen amid interest from Chelsea.

According to the Evening Standard, the Nigeria international is a target for Mauricio Pochettino, although the Blues are not feeling too confident about signing him.

So, what did Aurelio De Laurentiis say about Chelsea target Victor Osimhen? Let’s take a look…

What’s the story?

Well – as aforesaid – the Blues are not too confident about signing the Napoli talisman, and the Italian side’s President has only added to doubts over Chelsea’s chances of pulling a deal off.

The 74-year-old told Sport Media Set: “The only club that could afford Victor Osimhen is Paris Saint-Germain. If Nasser Al Khelaifi wants to send in a bid around €200m (£170m)… we wait and we see what happens. I personally think that Victor will stay here.”

By the sounds of it, Napoli value the 24-year-old far too highly for Chelsea to make a serious bid this summer.

Osimhen is undoubtedly a great striker – he scored 31 goals in 39 appearances last season as Napoli won their first Serie A title in 33 years.

However, £170m is a simply astonishing price tag, one that Chelsea cannot afford to go anywhere near.

Chelsea could have better chance to sign Osimhen next summer

In our view, Chelsea should wait for Osimhen – in 12 months, the Blues look to have a much better chance of securing his signature.

At the end of the 2023/24 campaign, the Nigerian will only have 12 months remaining on his contract at Napoli, which is set to expire in June 2025.

Interestingly – according to Il Matino in Italy – Osimhen is not planning to sign a contract extension in Naples, so Napoli may find themselves forced to cash in on their talisman next season, or else they risk losing him for free in 2025.

Therefore, it would be foolish of Chelsea to bid anywhere close to the £170m asking price, when it looks highly likely to drop by a substantial amount next summer.