Chelsea handed Osimhen ‘discount’ for potential swap deal as Blues star ‘only wants’ Conte reunion

According to reports, Chelsea have been informed that they can sign Nigeria international Victor Osimhen from Serie A outfit Napoli at a ‘discounted’ price.

One of Chelsea ‘s priorities this summer is to sign a top-class striker to compete with Nicolas Jackson, who joined the club from Villarreal last summer.

The 23-year-old has a lot of potential and scored 17 goals for the Premier League giants during his debut season, but he would benefit from having a capable striker to compete with.

Jackson is in a similar boat to Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund as the two Premier League clubs are scouring the market for a striker to ease the pressure currently placed on their inexperienced forwards.

Osimhen to join Chelsea?

Chelsea have been heavily linked with Osimhen in recent transfer windows and was tipped to move after winning Serie A in 2023 but Napoli priced him out of a move.

Napoli declined during the 2023/24 campaign but Osimhen still impressed as he scored 15 goals in his 25 Serie A appearances.

At the end of 2023, Osimhen extended his Napoli contract until 2026, but he penned this deal with the view to leaving the club this summer. He currently has a release clause worth around £110m.

Up to now, this has put clubs off from buying Osimhen, but a report in Italy claims Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis ‘would be open to a discount, but would never go below €100 million (£86m), a valuation that is still considered high by the Blues’.

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The report explains: ‘The Blues are looking for younger and less expensive strikers such as, for example, Jhon Duran from Aston Villa and Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid.

‘The Premier League is Osimhen’s big dream, but the time for alternative choices could soon come for him.

‘For now, Osimhen’s agent, Roberto Calenda, is trying to understand if there is still room for English negotiations, but the big clubs are looking elsewhere: Arsenal are targeting Gyokeres of Sporting Lisbon while Manchester United are considering Joshua Zirkzee.’

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A potential swap deal could lower the cost of the Osimhen operation, with the report claiming Chelsea outcast Romelu Lukaku ‘only wants’ to join Napoli this summer so he can reunite with Antonio Conte.

‘Lukaku is waiting for Conte and, above all, he would like to leave immediately, in the next few days, to start the season from the beginning and not have to wait until late summer to fit into a new group.

‘A permanent farewell is the ideal solution for the English club, which would be satisfied with a figure lower than the 37.5 million pound clause, around 44 million euros. To let him leave, the English club would also accept 20-25 million euros.

‘Lukaku wants Napoli, but De Laurentiis is waiting for Osimhen’s possible farewell before making any new considerations.’