Exclusive: Chelsea, Napoli to hold fresh talks over Victor Osimhen, with Blues’ wage stance revealed

Chelsea and Napoli will meet tomorrow (Wednesday) to discuss a potential part-exchange deal that could see Victor Osimhen join the Blues permanently, TEAMtalk can confirm.

We understand that Chelsea could offer Romelu Lukaku, who is a top target for Antonio Conte, plus cash for the talented Nigerian international.

Sources have told TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Rudy Galetti that negotiations over personal terms are not expected to be a problem for Chelsea .

Discussions with the striker’s agents have already taken place and TEAMtalk can reveal that the Blues’ idea is to let Osimhen take Lukaku’s place on the wage bill.

Lukaku , 31, earns an eye-watering £325,000 per week and Chelsea are willing to offer the same to Osimhen in order to secure his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

He has been their top striker target for several months and Enzo Maresca has indicated to club chiefs that he is keen to see the Napoli superstar join.

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Maresca wants more competition for Nicolas Jackson up front, who showed good signs last season but isn’t prolific enough to fire Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are also working on a deal that could see them re-sign Joao Felix, this time on a permanent deal from Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea to hold fresh Osimhen talks

As previously reported, Conte is desperate to bring in Lukaku to replace Osimhen and this has given Chelsea an advantage in the race.

But Napoli are also doing their due diligence on other forward targets, with Kevin Denkey of Cercle Bruges another option should they miss out on Lukaku.

There have been rumours in recent weeks that Chelsea could try and bring in Osimhen on loan but the player wants to join a new club permanently this summer.

The next few days will be crucial as Napoli and the Blues try and come to an agreement that suits all parties.

The 25-year-old could prove to be a game-changing addition for Chelsea as Maresca looks to turn his team into serial trophy challengers again.

Osimhen fired Napoli to the Serie A title in 2022/23 by scoring an incredible 26 league goals in 32 appearances, before netting 15 in 25 matches last term.

He has a release clause of £110m in his contract and Chelsea will hope that offering Lukaku as part of the deal will mean they can sign him for significantly less.

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