Napoli are on red alert after reports Chelsea opened up to their ideal scenario – signing Victor Osimhen for cash plus Romelu Lukaku, but the Nigerian has certain demands.
According to Sky Sport Italia this evening, the Blues are finally ready to discuss the possibility of exchanging the strikers with a large cash sum added in to cover the balance.
It comes after Calciomercato.com already suggested the potential for the Premier League side to take that into consideration.
There are still some issues, because Osimhen will not accept a loan with option to buy and insists he will not take a pay cut from the huge salary he agreed with Napoli in December 2023.
The key could be a loan with obligation to buy, but Chelsea must make that sacrifice for his wages.
Tonight, Sky Sport Italia insist the Premier League side finally opened up to making it a permanent swoop with coach Enzo Maresca urging the club to get it done.
They changed their tune after a deal with Atletico Madrid for Samu Omorodion collapsed.
Osimhen and Lukaku waiting all summer
The Partenopei had the plan all summer to sell the Capocannoniere of the Scudetto campaign for his €130m release clause and reinvest some of that in signing Antonio Conte’s favoured striker Lukaku.
However, the lack of real interest in their star man stalled the whole process and even dropping the asking price to €100m plus bonuses made no difference.
Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal are looking at other targets, while Chelsea were also seemingly not too keen on Osimhen.
Getting Lukaku and selling the Nigeria international at the same time was always the ideal scenario for Napoli.
Come on Chelsea this is the ideal time to snatch Osimhen he has been training and he is fit to be in the first match