Chelsea willing to sacrifice wonderkid in stunning Osimhen swap deal

Tom Weber

Updated: 6 Jul 2024 18:26 BST
4 min read

Chelsea are willing to offer up Cesare Casadei, Romelu Lukaku and cash to sign Victor Osimhen, according to a report.

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The transfer saga surrounding the Napoli sharpshooter continues apace. Osimhen has a gentleman's agreement with the club to leave this summer, with the 2023 champions also keen to get him off the books due to his sizeable wages and the desire to provide new boss Antonio Conte with funds.

However, the problem is that no European club are willing to pay his €130 million release clause, and they are even hesitant to potentially shell out €100m for the Nigerian. Arsenal are said to have tabled a €70m that was swiftly rejected.

Saudi side Al-Hilal are reportedly ready to 'shower Osimhen in gold,' but the 25-year-old dreams of playing in the Premier League. Chelsea, who previously cooled their interest, are said to be keeping a close eye on the situation still and news of Napoli lowering their demands has heartened the Blues.

Napoli want to get at least €100m for Osimhen, while Chelsea are not prepared to go that high. Instead, they are willing to swap up to two players plus a transfer fee for the striker.

Chelsea to sacrifice Casadei, Lukaku

At least that is according to Rudy Galetti, who reports that Romelu Lukaku is the obvious player to be included in the deal. Antonio Conte is keen on reuniting with his former Inter star and the feeling is mutual.

Chelsea are also trying to get rid of Armando Broja and Trevoh Chalobah, but neither player is of interest to Napoli. They don't need Broja if they are getting Lukaku and they are also currently in the process of signing highly-rated Alessandro Buongiorno from Torino for the centre-back position.

However, according to Galetti, there is another player the Blues are willing to part with. That man is Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei. His move to Chelsea in 2022 caused outrage in his native country and was met with excitement at Stamford Bridge, but two years on, the Blues are willing to sacrifice him.

Despite impressive loan spells at Reading and Leicester and Chelsea still rating Casadei highly, the 21-year-old is a candidate to depart west London this summer. Galetti claims that Napoli would be interested in Casadei, so it seems that a swap deal could potentially be on the cards.