Chelsea handed Osimhen lifeline as desperate Napoli offer DISCOUNT

Tom Weber

Updated: 3 Jul 2024 10:03 CDT
4 min read

Napoli will no longer insist on clubs triggering Victor Osimhen's €130 million release clause, according to a report.

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The Nigerian sharpshooter wants out. As part of his agreement to sign a new one-year contract in the winter, Osimhen secured for himself the right to leave Napoli this summer after the 2023 Serie A champions rejected several lucrative offers last year.

The striker's contract was fitted with a €130m release clause to allow Napoli to raise significant funds from selling their most prized asset. New coach Antonio Conte even publically revealed at his unveiling that there is an 'agreement' to allow Osimhen to depart in this window.

However, thus far, little has materialised in terms of concrete interest. Osimhen is not coming off a particularly impressive season and many clubs feel that he is quite simply not worth €130m plus his huge wages.

In recent weeks, both Arsenal and Chelsea ended their pursuit of the 25-year-old due to concerns about his price and injury record. However, they have now been presented with a spectacular opportunity to revive their interest.

Napoli offer Osimhen discount

At least that is according to SportMediaSet (via SpazioNapoli), which claims that Napoli are willing to offer something of a 'discount' on the striker. It is asserted that the Italian giants will no longer insist on his €130m release clause being triggered.

Instead, Napoli are open to negotiating for a lower fee, though they still maintain that they will not sell for less than €100m. The 2023 champions want to provide new boss Conte with funds to revamp the team that slumped to a 10th-place finish last season.

This is still an outrageously hefty sum, of course, but something that is likely much more payable, especially for a club like Chelsea, who may have an ace up their sleeve.

So far this summer, Chelsea's business has been all about unofficial swap deals. Ian Maatsen headed to Aston Villa while Omari Kellyman joined. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has arrived, while Michael Golding is set to move to Leicester.

By selling Osimhen to Chelsea, Napoli could secure his replacement as part of the package. Coach Conte is keen to reunite with his former Inter star Romelu Lukaku, who is still on the books at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have an agreement with Lukaku that he will be allowed to leave for €40m, which would mean that they would essentially only have to pay €60m for Osimhen. Suddenly, a move for the Nigerian could be back on, as this would be a very good deal.