Napoli send ‘AS SOON AS POSSIBLE’ Osimhen message as Chelsea bombshell dropped

Robin Bairner

4 Jul 2024 06:46 CDT
3 min read

Victor Osimhen, Chelsea, 2023/24 — © IMAGO

Victor Osimhen’s future at Napoli looks as uncertain as ever, but while the Nigeria international forward is still bound to depart, his destination looks unclear.

Article continues under the video

Osimhen continues to be linked with a string of major clubs, with Chelsea and Arsenal regularly linked from the Premier League, while PSG are interested in taking him back to Ligue 1, where he starred for Lille.

Napoli have been insistent clubs pay €120 million for the striker, which is the value of his release fee.

According to bombshell news from reliable journalist Marco Giordano writing for SpazioNapoli, Chelsea are set to drop out of the running for Osimhen.

Current ETV

Victor Osimhen

F (C)

Napoli

Victor Osimhen

F (C)

Napoli

ETV Range

€53.3M - €88.9M

'Napoli in trouble'

This has a knock-on impact on Blues striker Romelu Lukaku, who will now no longer depart Stamford Bridge for Napoli, with that door having been slammed shut.

It reports: “Napoli hope to complete the sale of Victor Osimhen as soon as possible. The market around the Nigeria striker is blocked, with the interested clubs having no intention of paying the amount in the termination clause.

“Victor Osimhen is out of reach of Chelsea. Consequently, the possible transfer of Osimhen to the Blues and the hypothetical exchange with Romelu Lukaku has faded.

Current ETV

R. Lukaku

F (C)

Roma

R. Lukaku

F (C)

Roma

ETV Range

€26.4M - €43.9M

“This piece of news puts Napoli in further trouble, as they expected to sell Osimhen to the London club.

“Unfortunately, however, the high figure set by Napoli as Osimhen's termination clause makes the move impossible for Chelsea. Furthermore, the Blues have no intention of including Lukaku in an exchange with the Nigerian, but would prefer to sell him permanently in an unrelated deal.

“The transfer has therefore practically fallen through, with Napoli having to look elsewhere for new buyers for Osimhen.”

Reports elsewhere have indicated that Napoli are willing to offer a discount on Osimhen, with his price cut to around €100m.

But the striker is clearly not close to a move, with the Serie A giants expecting him to begin pre-season with them next week.

Napoli, meanwhile, may be forced to offer a further discount on the striker, who wishes to leave, so Chelsea could well re-emerge as a legitimate option at a more reasonable price.