JUST IN: Chelsea close to sign Victor Osimhen deal after offering TWO players in a swap deal as Todd Boehly set to secure RECORD signing
Chelsea has made offers to Romelu Lukaku and one other Blues star in an attempt to move the transaction along, and they think they are getting close to signing Victor Osimhen.
Osimhen has requested to leave Naples this summer, and Chelsea is the team that is most interested in signing him.
The west London team is still keen to add a number nine this summer, and with the failure of a deal to recruit Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid, the star of Napoli has once again become their top priority.
With negotiations regarding a possible trade taking place in the last few weeks, former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is keen to bring Romelu Lukaku to the team to take the place of the Nigerian international.
The Sun report Chelsea are now ‘on the verge’ of completing the deal with Conte eager for attacking midfielder Cesare Casadei to be included in the deal. Napoli also want an addition £39million on top to give the deal the green light.
Chelsea signed the highly-rated Casadei from Inter Milan in August 2022, spending half a season long loan at Reading before joining Enzo Maresca at Leicester City last season before being recalled in January.
Osimhen meanwhile has been on Chelsea’s radar for some time with Maresca supporting the club’s pursuit of the striker.
The club have been unwilling to meet Napoli’s asking price of £110million but Conte’s desire to bring in Lukaku has offered another option.
Napoli’s sporting director, Giovanni Manna, travelled to London on Tuesday for talks with Chelsea over a deal for Lukaku having revealed Osimhen to leave before the end of the summer transfer window.
‘Victor Osimhen has asked to leave the club. He wants to go,’ Manna said.
‘The situation is clear, there were already chances for his exit last summer. Victor wants to leave. We will see in the next 20 days.’
Chelsea have already signed 10 new players this summer with Pedro Neto among them, arriving from Wolves in a £54million deal.
Conor Gallagher meanwhile is still waiting to learn his fate with his proposed move to Atletico Madrid on hold after a deal for Omorodion to join the Premier League side fell through.