Chelsea identify strong formula for deadly Serie A striker, with Blues forward fitting bargaining chip

Ciaran McCarthy
Victor Osimhen, Napoli, May 2023
Victor Osimhen has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League for some time.

Chelsea are now in a great position to land Victor Osimhen, as Christian Pulisic could be used as a makeweight, with Napoli reportedly interested in him.

Osimhen has been the subject of interest from a lot of teams of late. Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich are three of the most heavily-linked sides.

However, he’ll likely cost a massive fee if Napoli are to sell. As such, the Bundesliga outfit are reportedly expected to pursue Randal Kolo Muani instead.

It’s little wonder why such big names are keen on Osimhen. He’s been a driving force in Napoli’s first Serie A title win since 1990 – scoring 23 goals and providing five assists in 28 games.

A desire to improve and potentially repeat the title-winning feat next season could be a reason for Napoli interest in Chelsea star Pulisic.

Indeed, The Daily Mail reports both they and Juventus have ‘expressed interest’ in the forward.

That might not be the positive move they think it’s going to be, though. Pulisic has been subject to reports that he’ll leave the London club, as part of a ‘transfer exodus’.

An outlay of £500million over the past two transfer windows without any significant outgoings means the Blues will be forced to sell before making any more massive signings.

But, one they do want to make is Osimhen. The problem with that snare is that, according to the Daily Mail, the ‘general consensus’ is he’ll cost £130million.

That Napoli are interested in a Blues player means they might potentially be able to convince them into a swap deal, sending Pulisic to Italy and getting the star in return.

That a rival of Napoli’s in Juventus are also interested gives Chelsea another avenue to explore. They could potentially sell Pulisic to Juve for a good price and attempt to sign Osimhen.

While that might not bring them the required amount of money, they seemingly have a plan in place to muster that up. Indeed, the Daily Mail suggests they’ll ‘look at who could be put into an offer’ for Osimhen and Romelu Lukaku is ‘one to consider’.

Getting rid of one or both of the aforementioned players would be good business from Chelsea. Pulisic has started just eight games this season and has had little impact, while Lukaku is currently playing for Inter Milan.

As such, neither are really helping the Blues win games, while Osimhen surely would.

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