Osimhen to Chelsea transfer given ‘here we go’ by former team-mate with Lukaku exit ‘very close

Victor Osimhen’s former team-mate has given his potential transfer to Chelsea the ‘here we go’ treatment as Romelu Lukaku’s move to Napoli edges closer.

Ahead of the current transfer window, the Blues had already spent around a £1billion on transfers since a Todd Boehly-led consortium took over the Premier League club in May 2022.

But Chelsea have continued their spending this summer with the Blues’ £45m deal to sign Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid their tenth signing of the summer .

They have come under criticism for their apparent scattergun approach to recruitment with Enzo Maresca admitting that he has 15-20 players “training apart” from the rest of the first-team squad.

Maresca said in his press conference on Wednesday: “I am not working with 42 players. I am working with 21 players. The other 15-20 players are training apart. I don’t see them. It’s not a mess like it looks from outside. Absolutely not.

“They can even have 20 years contract, it’s not my point. I don’t care.”

They are looking to sell a number of players before the deadline with Lukaku set to depart for Serie A side Napoli over the next few days.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed a deal is close, he said on X : “Romelu Lukaku deal expected to happen as Napoli are advancing in talks with Chelsea. Napoli director will meet with Chelsea in London in the next 24h to proceed and try find final solution.

“All parties involved expect Lukaku to become new Napoli player in the next days.”

Chelsea interest in Napoli striker Osimhen is separate to Lukaku’s transfer and now the Nigerian’s former international team-mate John Ogu has claimed a deal is close.

Ogu, who currently plays for Maccabi Kabilio Jaffa in Israel, took to X to reveal a ‘here we go’ message, usually used by Romano to confirm transfers are on the verge of being completed, he wrote on X: “OSIMHEN TO CHELSEA… Here we go !!!”

MORE ON CHELSEA MESS FROM F365:
👉 Chelsea ‘bomb squad’, Enzo Fernandez and Joao Felix in ranking of 22 Todd Boehly mistakes
👉 Reassigning the Chelsea ‘bomb squad’: Sterling to Premier League rivals; Real Madrid land full-back
👉 No sympathy for Enzo Maresca; he signed up for the Chelsea threshing machine

And former CBS Sports journalist Ben Jacobs brought an update on Wednesday on Lukaku, Osimhen and other Chelsea outgoings.

Jacobs told GiveMeSport : ‘Chelsea have several outgoings to resolve in the final days of the window. Napoli are hoping for a breakthrough on Romelu Lukaku this week. Chelsea are willing to sanction a loan with obligation, which is the Serie A giants’ preferred format, but are insisting on €40m+. Napoli’s last offer was €30m. All parties are still optimistic the deal will happen.

‘The Lukaku talks do not involve Victor Osimhen. Chelsea view that as a separate late-window deal, but need the Nigerian striker to agree to an initial loan or for the overall cost of the deal to drop to make it viable.

‘Chelsea don’t have a fixed maximum wage in mind for Osimhen, but the 25-year-old would have to agree to reduce his desired £250,000-per-week terms for this season since Chelsea are without Champions League football, meaning he would be on under £200,000-per-week but with the ability to earn more if he hits personal and team targets.

‘Whether Osimhen or another name, Chelsea do want to bring in another striker, even though Marc Guiu has impressed in pre-season.

‘Armando Broja is set to depart Chelsea on Wednesday. He has agreed to a loan to Ipswich Town despite some initial reluctance. Ipswich chairman Mark Ashton played a significant role in convincing the Stamford Bridge outcast.

‘The deal will include a £30m obligation to buy if Ipswich stay in the Premier League, but Broja will not pre-agree a long-term deal beyond the loan yet. It means if the obligation is triggered, it will still be contingent on the Albanian striker finalising a contract at Portman Road.’