Chelsea Transfer News Today: Osimhen TRUTH, Delap HOPE, Palmer WANTS Mainoo

Tom Weber

• 9 Jan 2025 05:00 CST
• 6 min read

FootballTransfers runs through all the latest Chelsea transfer news, rumours and gossip, including updates on Victor Osimhen, Liam Delap and Kobbie Mainoo.

Victor Osimhen truth

Chelsea are unlikely to pursue a move for Victor Osimhen before the January transfer window closes, according to Ben Jacobs.

The Blues were heavily linked with the Nigerian over the summer, but they were unable to finalise an agreement to sign him and he joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal instead.

Osimhen has been touted to end his loan spell in Turkey early, in order to join Chelsea this month, however that is currently extremely unlikely to happen, largely due to his wage demands.

READ MORE: Premier League January transfers 2025 - All the Done Deals

Liam Delap hope

While Chelsea won’t sign Osimhen this month, the Blues could be set to sign Ipswich Town forward Liam Delap.

GiveMeSport report that he is “open” to a Stamford Bridge switch in January, despite previously stating that his focus remains on Ipswich.

Delap has emerged as a key target for Chelsea over the past few months, with the west London giants stepping up their interest following his performance against Enzo Maresca’s side in late December.

READ MORE: Chelsea's 10 most expensive transfers of all time

Kobbie Mainoo latest

On the incoming front, a bombshell story was produced on Tuesday when The Daily Mail claimed that Chelsea are leading the race for Man Utd wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo.

This came after The Athletic's transfer insider David Ornstein revealed that the homegrown midfielder was no longer considered untouchable due to the Red Devils' need to raise funds and generate pure profit.

No transfer is imminent and Man Utd would ideally like to keep Mainoo, but contract talks have so far proved difficult with the 19-year-old.

A move to Stamford Bridge appears unlikely at this stage, but Cole Palmer has taken to Instagram to 'like' a post reporting on the Blues' supposed interest in the Englishman, along with a picture of Mainoo in a Chelsea kit.

Antonio Conte bids for youngster

Former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is determined to bring Cesare Casadei back to Italy, according to Fabrizio Romano, with Napoli set to bid for the 21-year-old imminently.

Chelsea have already rejected an offer from Torino, but Casadei is determined to leave this month and a return to Italy is the most likely outcome.

Napoli's bid will be for a permanent move, while Chelsea are trying to negotiate a sell-on percentage. Romano states that offers have also come in from Feyenoord and two English clubs.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall officially on the market

Romano also reports that Chelsea have officially put summer signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall on the market, with the player informed of this decision in December.

After spending a sizeable €35.4 million on him, Chelsea want to secure an adequate fee and will not force the 26-year-old out, at least as things stand.

Romano has hinted on his YouTube channel that Chelsea could also be open to a loan move for the former Leicester man.

Renato Veiga attracting Premier League attention

Chelsea defender Renato Veiga is attracting Premier League attention, specifically from Wolves and Bournemouth, according to the Daily Mail.

Last week, Romano revealed that Napoli had taken an interest in the Chelsea summer signing and that they could bid for him, while Italian media later asserted that Juventus are also interested.

So far, coach Enzo Maresca has insisted that Veiga is a crucial part of his project despite recently omitting him from the matchday squad against Fulham supposedly due to poor training performances.

Borussia Dortmund eye Carney Chukwuemeka

Borussia Dortmund have become the latest club to discuss the potential signing of Carney Chukwuemeka, according to Sky Germany. The midfielder is all but guaranteed to leave Chelsea this month and the Bundesliga side are interested.

However, the fact that Chelsea insist on his €48 million release clause being paid could prove an issue, which means that Dortmund will likely only pursue a loan move.

Chukwuemeka has been linked with the likes of AC Milan, West Ham and his former club Aston Villa in recent days.

Aurelien Tchouameni admission

Chelsea reportedly believe that Lesley Ugochukwu, who is currently on loan at Southampton, has the potential to become as good as Real Madrid superstar Aurelien Tchouameni.

The 20-year-old moved to Stamford Bridge in 2023, but he only racked up 15 appearances across all competitions during his debut campaign at the club and he was sent on loan to Southampton in August.

Ugochukwu has started just four Premier League games since joining the Saints and he has been linked with a January recall amid reports that Chukwuemeka, Casadei and Dewsbury-Hall could all leave Chelsea.

Furthermore, The Athletic report that Chelsea are considering bringing the French youngster back to the club this month as they believe Ugochukwu has the talent to reach Tchouameni’s level and become one of Europe’s best midfielders.

PSG not keen on Christopher Nkunku

Despite persistent links in recent days, PSG are not interested in re-signing academy graduate Christopher Nkunku, according to Romano.

Nevertheless, Nkunku could still depart Stamford Bridge this month should he or his agent formally hand in a transfer request. Romano claims that 'top clubs' are attentive to his situation.

Vitor Reis blow

Manchester City are close to signing Chelsea target Vitor Reis for €40m, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Pep Guardiola’s side are desperate to land at least one new defender in January and they are reportedly in advanced talks to purchase the Palmeiras wonderkid.

Chelsea, Real Madrid and Brighton & Hove Albion have also been linked with the Brazilian youngster, but he looks set to join Man City instead.