Chelsea to ‘test waters’ with bid for Serie A superstar as alternative to Osimhen
Chelsea could reportedly ‘test the waters’ for Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez if they fail in their pursuit of their top target Victor Osimhen in the summer.
The Blues have been linked with some huge striker signings of late. On their list are the likes of Osimhen, Ivan Toney and Viktor Gyokeres, all of which have the potential to be massive stars.
Osimhen and Gyokeres have been banging the goals in all season in their respective leagues, while Toney has only recently returned from a football ban.
According to HITC, the former is the ‘first choice’ as Chelsea look to recruit a world-class striker to change their fortunes, given they are currently 11th in the Premier League.
However, he’ll apparently cost £95million this summer, and despite that being below his release clause of £113million, it could be difficult for the Blues to pay.
They’ve splashed over £1billion in the past two years, and have not recouped a lot of cash. As such, if they don’t make some big sales this summer, their ability to make big signings will surely be significantly reduced.
As such, if they are unable to get Osimhen for that reason or another, they have another Serie A striker lined up as a backup option.
Indeed, the report states Chelsea may ‘test the waters’ for Inter Milan man Martinez if they ‘fail in their pursuit’ of the Nigerian. Martinez currently has just two years left on his contract, so could be cheaper than Osimhen.
That said, he is outscoring the Napoli man by a long way this season, having scored 23 Serie A goals, so that is sure to make him an expensive player.
It’s believed Inter feel they will be able to lock him down for longer than they currently have him for, too. The report states there is ‘confidence’ that the striker will renew his terms with the club.
That’s as they’re planning to offer him the chance to become the highest-paid player at the club, after talks over a new contract began to drag after they were opened last year.
If a new contract is agreed upon before the summer window, it seems unlikely that Chelsea will attempt to make a move for him, as it would be very tough for Inter to let Martinez go in that event.
