Chelsea ward off hijack attempt to sign Omorodion - Romano

Tom Weber

Updated: 8 Aug 2024 08:14 BST
3 min read

Samu Omorodion's transfer to Chelsea is 'here we go' done, but there were hijack attempts, according to Fabrizio Romano.

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Chelsea have finally landed the striker they have been chasing all summer. Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has dropped his famous 'here we go' on the Blues signing Omorodion.

The Premier League giants are set to pay around €40 million upfront for the towering centre-forward, who is expected to sign a contract until 2031 at Stamford Bridge, becoming the third arrival capable of playing at centre-forward after compatriot Marc Guiu and Omari Kellyman.

The deal will be officially announced once Atletico Madrid have managed to formally seal the signing of Julian Alvarez in an eye-watering €95m transfer from Man City.

Conor Gallagher, meanwhile, will travel to Madrid this evening to complete his transfer from Chelsea to Atletico also for a fee in the region of €40m, so it is something of an informal swap deal with Omorodion.

Leverkusen attempted to hijack

Intriguingly, Romano has stated that other clubs tried to enter the race for Omorodion before Chelsea managed to strike a complete verbal agreement with the player and Atletico.

In particular, Romano has mentioned Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen as one of the sides keen on hijacking the 20-year-old move, having recently lost a talented Spanish forward themselves in Iker Bravo, who has joined Udinese.

However, according to the Italian transfer expert, Bayer 04 were not the only side keen on getting involved in the Omorodion saga. However, Chelsea ultimately won out.

Omorodion will have to complete a medical before his transfer is officially confirmed, so it could yet take some time before the deal is formally wrapped up as he is currently at the Olympics with Spain where he will face France in the final of the football tournament on Friday.

Read more about: La Liga, Bundesliga, Premier League, Atlético, Bayer 04, Chelsea, Samu Aghehowa