Chelsea legend reveals Blues ‘know’ how to get Osimhen in January, after he came ‘very close’ to summer switch

Chelsea legend John Obi Mikel has revealed that Blues now “know” how a deal for Victor Osimhen “will be done” when they pick it up in January, after the striker came “very close” to a summer transfer to the club.

Chelsea seemed to spend a decent portion of the summer attempting to get Osimhen over the line. Links between the striker and the club were rife throughout the window.

The Blues have had problems in the striker position for years, and felt the Nigerian, after 48 goals in the past two seasons, could be the man to rectify them.

But on deadline day, there was silence regarding the move, and Osimhen remained with Napoli.

But because he had been angling for a move, they did not want him in the squad anymore.

As such, he was sent out on loan to Galatasaray for the season, with the Turkish window open for longer than a lot of Europe.

But just how close Chelsea came to the move has been revealed, and former Blue Mikel states they know what they need to do differently in the next negotiations.

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Chelsea know how to get Osimhen

“I could see the ambition of where they want to take this club now and also on Victor’s side, I think if we have to pick this back up again in January or next summer, we know where we are,” he said on the Obi One Podcast.

“We know where we’ve stopped and it’s just the little details that need to be finalised and the deal will be done.”

If the Blues do pick up their attempts in January, they can get Osimhen immediately, with a break clause in his contract at Galatasaray, despite the fact he is due to be there for the entire season.

In any case, that Chelsea came so close to getting the striker is the reason Mikel feels they now know what to do differently.

Chelsea were very close to signing Osimhen

“We were very, very close – I’ll put it that way. We were hours away from getting this deal done but it was just slight issues, slight little problems, that we just couldn’t get over the line,” Mikel said.

“And then, we didn’t have much time. The one time you want the seconds and minutes and hours to slow down a bit, it just didn’t work. I think both sides really played their part in terms of getting a deal done.”

Mikel also refuted claims that Osimhen was asking for too much money for the deal to be done.

As such, it looks like if it is picked up again soon, there is a good chance of things ending more positively next time.

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