Chelsea look to be emerging as the team in pole position for the transfer of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen in summer 2024, though they are also considering other options up front, CaughtOffside understands.
The Blues have been given a potentially significant boost in the race for Osimhen as one of the clubs thought to be their main rivals for the Nigerian’s signature are now expected to focus on signing a different kind of forward next year, most likely Rafael Leao or someone in a similar mould to Kylian Mbappe, who is currently on course to be out of contract at the end of this campaign.
Chelsea are showing a strong interest in Osimhen, according to sources with a close understanding of the situation, with a traditional centre-forward looking likely to be high up on the club’s agenda ahead of next season.
Sources have informed CaughtOffside that two Premier League players are also to Chelsea’s liking, Brentford’s Ivan Toney and Brighton’s Evan Ferguson, while Feyenoord front-man Santiago Gimenez is also being monitored by Chelsea and other top clubs after a superb start to the season.
PSG have been previous admirers of Osimhen, but instead moved for Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos this summer, meaning a different profile of player now makes sense as more of a priority for the Ligue 1 giants. Mbappe will surely need replacing if he goes and Leao looks an ideal candidate, though a final decision is yet to be made on that front as PSG remain in more of an open dialogue with their star player over a potential new deal, with no significant updates on that front in recent weeks.
Osimhen was also known to be too expensive for Manchester United in the summer, prompting them to focus on Rasmus Hojlund as a priority instead, so if the 24-year-old does move to England it makes sense that Stamford Bridge now appears to be his most likely destination.
There have been no formal talks over this deal yet, but Chelsea are set to hold meetings over their transfer strategy soon, while Osimhen’s contract talks with Napoli are understood to have stalled.