Chelsea's key to signing Osimhen ahead of Man Utd

Stuart Telford

• 23 Apr 2023 12:27 BST
• 3 min read

Chelsea and Manchester United are both in hot pursuit of Napoli goalscorer Victor Osimhen, but the Blues could have an ace in the hole when it comes to acquiring him.

The two Premier League giants have an obvious need for greater firepower next season.

Chelsea's top scorer in the Premier League this season is Kai Havertz, with seven. United's equivalent, Marcus Rashford, might have more than twice that with 15, but he prefers lining up on the left. The man leading the line, Wout Weghorst, has yet to open his account in the league.

READ: Ten Hag outlines clear Man Utd priority in direct transfer demand

Osimhen is having no such trouble this term, his league-high 21 goals helping fire Napoli towards a first Serie A title in 33 years. Club owner Aurelio De Laurentiis, perhaps unsurprisingly, wants more than €100 million for him.

Napoli want Ziyech

Chelsea and United could both afford that - even if the former in particular are worried about Financial Fair Play regulations - but they may not have to stump up the whole amount with Napoli interested in Hakim Ziyech.

"Napoli's interest in Ziyech plays into Chelsea's interest in Nigerian striker Osimhen, who is also in Manchester United's sights, and Georgian winger [Khvicha] Kvaratskhelia, with whom Liverpool have been linked," report the Mirror.

READ: Napoli demand Man Utd and Chelsea pay record fee for Osimhen

Ziyech is valued at €19.3m by FootballTransfers in-house algorithm, so he would put a significant dent in Osimhen's asking price if used as a makeweight in any deal.

Chelsea also have a couple of striker with big reputations who are surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Romelu Lukaku, so there could be more players of interest to Napoli as they look for Osimhen's replacement.

United don't own Wout Weghorst, have no intention of selling Marcus Rashford, and Anthony Martial doesn't hold the same appeal as Aubameyang or Lukaku, despite all three enduring recent travails.