Chelsea ‘offer £77m and two stars including Lukaku to Napoli in sensational swap transfer for Victor Osimhen’
CHELSEA are willing to fork out £77million, Romelu Lukaku AND another player for Victor Osimhen this summer, according to reports.
The Blues are set to retool once again following another disappointing season.
With Mauricio Pochettino‘s side looking light up front at times this term, signing a new striker will be on the agenda.
According to Italian transfer expert DiMarzio, the Blues have made initial contact with Napoli regarding a deal for Osimhen.
The 25-year-old has been among Serie A‘s best strikers since moving to Italy from Lille in 2020.
With two years remaining on his contract, this could be the summer that Napoli look to cash in on the Nigerian.
Chelsea are claimed to be willing to use forgotten man Lukaku in a deal to sign Osimhen.
The Belgian, 30, rejoined the Blues in a disastrous £97.5m deal in 2021.
He has spent the last two seasons out on loan – firstly at Inter Milan then this time around at Roma.
With two years also still remaining on his deal, the Blues will look to get his salary off their wage bill for good this summer.
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In addition to £77m plus Lukaku, Chelsea are also claimed to be willing to throw in a young player to sweeten the deal.
Osimhen helped Napoli to a historic Serie A title victory last season.
This time around he has scored 14 goals in 22 appearances, having missed chunks of the campaign due to a hamstring injury and Afcon.
Lukaku, meanwhile, has netted 11 goals in 29 Serie A appearances for Roma, with 19 in all competitions.
Chelsea are likely to face strong competition for Osimhen’s signature.
Paris Saint-Germain hold interest in the striker, and plan to enter negotiations imminently.
The French champions are set to lose Kylian Mbappe this summer, with the forward confirming that he will be leaving Parc des Princes upon the conclusion of his contract.
How Pochettino can solve Chelsea’s midfield crisis thanks to the works of a 13th century poet
By Andy Dillon
IT IS HIGHLY unlikely that Mauricio Pochettino is familiar with the work of Rumi.
Whether the renowned Islamic poet and mystic had the tactical dilemmas facing Chelsea’s head coach in mind while dreaming up his scholarly works in 13th century Afghanistan, we will never know.
It’s fair to say Rumi was not a regular in The Shed at Stamford Bridge.
Yet one of his most famous quotations strikes right at the heart of Pochettino’s problems trying to transform his team into consistent challengers at the top end of the Premier League.
It was Rumi who wrote so prophetically: “Two birds tied together. They will not be able to fly even though they have four wings.”
He could have scribbled that on the back of his programme from so many of Chelsea’s games this season with regard to Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.
There is a feeling among regular Chelsea watchers that while it is a blow on a personal level for Fernandez to be ruled out for the rest of the season with his injury problem, it may yet turn to Pochettino’s advantage.
For it allows Caicedo to roam that patch in front of his defence with greater freedom. Both players are exceptional individual talents.
Read Andy Dillon’s take on Chelsea’s midfield in full.
Or check out all of Andy Dillon’s articles.