Chelsea to break Man Utd hearts as Boehly ‘makes contact’ for staggering January transfer
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Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly watches his team in action
Manchester United look set to miss out on the signing of Napoli centre-forward Victor Osimhen, as Chelsea have ‘made contact’ to capture him first, according to one journalist.
Osimhen has established himself as one of the best strikers in the world in recent seasons. Last term, he managed 31 strikes in just 39 games, as Napoli won their first Serie A title in 33 years and also reached the last eight of the Champions League.
Osimhen appears set for another great campaign this time around, as he has already found the back of the net six times in 10 appearances.
With the Nigerian’s current contract set to expire in June 2025, Napoli have got to work on extending his terms until 2028. In August, it was widely reported that this new deal was on the verge of being signed.
However, Napoli have never been able to get the fresh contract over the line. And they have not been helped by the club’s social media team posting two videos which appeared to mock the player in September, which caused uproar.
Given Osimhen’s unbelievable scoring record, it is no surprise English teams are aiming to bring him to the Premier League.
On Thursday, it emerged that Man Utd want to back Erik ten Hag with a huge striker signing in January to help him turn the club’s fortunes around. The Red Devils are interested in Osimhen, Ivan Toney and Mehdi Taremi. Two days later, transfer reporter Alex Crook urged Man Utd to ‘break the bank’ for either Osimhen or Toney.
Of course, Ten Hag does already have Rasmus Hojlund up front, but Osimhen or Toney would certainly elevate his attack to a new level.
Chelsea ramp up Victor Osimhen move
But CaughtOffside recently stated that Chelsea are eager to accelerate talks with Napoli as they aim to win the hunt for Osimhen. And Napoli journalist Giovanni Scotto has now provided an update on the situation.
Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, he claims that Chelsea have taken another step towards snaring the 24-year-old by ‘making contact’ with Napoli officials.
Mauricio Pochettino ‘is not convinced’ by current options such as Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson – despite the latter’s hat-trick against Tottenham – and has therefore urged Boehly to sign him a new, world-class striker. The Blues co-owner is now poised to meet that demand by pushing to take Osimhen to West London.
Scotto adds that up to this point, Napoli have had no intention of negotiating Osimhen’s potential exit. They would ideally like to keep him, but if they do have to sell then they would rather do this at the end of the season.
But Pochettino is insisting that Chelsea need to sort their unconvincing attack this winter, and this could see Chelsea launch a massive January bid.
Napoli owner Aurelio de Laurentiis has previously told interested clubs they will have to pay £150million for Osimhen, which would see Chelsea smash their transfer record.
However, if Osimhen publicly reveals he will not be penning a new deal in Naples, then this would force De Laurentiis to lower his demands. Chelsea could resultantly strike an agreement by offering around £100m.