Chelsea in dreamland as fresh twist in talks tees up extremely favourable Osimhen swap deal

Chelsea may yet be able to offload wantaway striker Romelu Lukaku and bring Napoli star Victor Osimhen to Stamford Bridge; however, there’s a slight twist in a potential deal.

Chelsea have been heavily linked with Osimhen this summer but so far, Napoli have not been able to sell their coveted talisman – thanks in no small part to his £110m release clause.

Arsenal, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Saudi Pro League teams have been keeping tabs on the 25-year-old but as the transfer window ticks on, it increasingly looked like he would stay at the Serie A outfit.

Napoli have been interested in reuniting Belgium international Lukaku, who has spent the last two seasons on loan at Inter Milan and Roma after his £97.5m switch to Chelsea in 2021 did not go to plan, with his former Inter boss Antonio Conte – who was appointed as Gli Azzurri manager earlier this summer.

But with Napoli wanting either Lukaku or Osimhen, some breakthrough needed to be made for the former to head to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and the latter to leave it.

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Incidentally, Chelsea were the fifth-highest Premier League scorers last season under last boss Mauricio Pochettino, but their Expected Goals (xG of 80.88) and Expected Points (xPTS of 64.2) tallies were above their actual totals (77 goals and 63 points) – suggesting a slight profligacy issue in front of goal.

Moreover, had it not been for the brilliance of Cole Palmer – who proved to be a £42.5m masterstroke purchase from Manchester City in 2023 – and the useful goals of Nicolas Jackson, who had an xG of 19.86 but finished with 14 goals, Chelsea would have had a dreadful season.

The Blues have targeted a clinical marksman for quite some time and now they may be a step closer to, somewhat, achieving that goal, just when this transfer deal looked like it was dead and buried.

Talks progress on Lukaku and Osimhen resolution

According to The Athletic, Napoli are in discussions with Chelsea to sign Lukaku permanently, and talks are underway over Osimhen heading to Stamford Bridge on loan with an option to buy the former Lille star.

This comes shortly after Osimhen was left out of Napoli’s squad for their friendly against Albanian side Egnatia at the weekend, throwing fresh doubt on his future.

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The 6ft 1in forward, who has scored 76 goals in 133 appearances for the Italian side since joining from Lille four years ago, had returned to pre-season training earlier this month with his team-mates but this squad omission move was telling.

While for some that may have been hard to take, Osimhen may not be overly concerned as he has hinted at a Napoli exit for quite some time. Indeed, in January, he made a cryptic remark about his future.

A month after signing a new contract to keep him at the club until 2026, he said: “The rumour is going around about me linked with the Premier League. When you’re one of the hottest strikers on the globe, you expect this type of thing, and of course, the Premier League is one of the biggest and best leagues in the whole world.

“I’m with Napoli, I signed a new contract. I’m enjoying my time there. I think I’ve already made up my mind, I already know what I want to do in my career. Since I’ve started, I’ve been the one making my own decisions and everything is working out well for me.

“I already know the next step I want to take, so for now I just want to finish the season strong. I will [then] go relax somewhere with my daughter, think about my life and then finally come out with a decision that I’ve already made.”

Osimhen sets sights on Premier League

And according to TEAMtalk transfer insider Rudy Galetti, Osimhen is still prioritizing joining the Premier League.

Sources have confirmed Chelsea are in contact with the striker’s agent to discuss personal terms and talks are progressing well.

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The Blues have long considered Osimhen a main target and to try and lower the price of the former Wolfsburg man, they are prepared to offer Lukaku and Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei, too.

It is understood the west London outfit don’t want to spend more than £40m on a striker and while getting Osimhen for that price is a big ask, they will try and stick to their guns, nonetheless.

Dream deal presents itself to Chelsea

While the Osimhen-Lukaku swap talk is progress, there is still a long way to go before Chelsea can move on from their £97.5m transfer mistake with the Belgian and Napoli can edge closer to ending this transfer saga with the Nigerian.

If they were to bring him in on loan, that may be a dream move for Chelsea as it allows the Premier League side to not break the bank and risk a points deduction for profit and sustainability rules breaches. It may be kicking the can down the road but for now, it could be a great deal.

PSG look the team most likely to scupper this move, however, with the Ligue 1 giants already having a £76m bid for Osimhen rejected earlier this summer. An intriguing last few weeks of the transfer window lies ahead.