Chelsea are said to have done a "tonne of leg work" to convince a star player to join them this summer, as they seek to fix a major problem.
Pochettino under pressure at Chelsea
It hasn't quite been the dream first season in charge for manager Mauricio Pochettino, who has overseen a disappointing debut campaign despite being backed with £400 million worth of signings in the summer.
Manager receives Chelsea offer as Stamford Bridge chiefs travel for meeting
Pochettino’s future is still uncertain.
ByEmilio Galantini
There have been some suggestions that Pochettino could even be replaced by Chelsea if results take a turn for the worst, with rumours surrounding his future emerging on a consistent basis as results remain inconsistent.
The Blues lost their Carabao Cup final to Liverpool and look very unlikely to be contending for a European spot come the end of 2023/2024. A lot appears to be riding on their FA Cup run and whether they can make a success of their bid to win one of football's oldest competitions.
Pochettino isn't exactly helped by Chelsea's lack of a consistent 20-plus goal per season striker, and a lot of reports are claiming that a new centre-forward is top priority for Stamford Bridge chiefs.
Chelsea's links with Osimhen
One of the major names linked in that regard is Napoli star Victor Osimhen. The Nigeria international, who's been one of Serie A's most prolific goalscorers for a few years now, is thought to be top of the agenda for Chelsea right now.
Sassuolo 1-6 Napoli
9.90
Frosinone 1-3 Napoli
8.46
Napoli 2-0 Sassuolo
7.62
Napoli 2-1 Cagliari
7.60
Napoli 4-1 Udinese
7.36
"I think they will sign Victor Osimhen in the summer," said former Arsenal defender William Gallas. "I don’t know Victor that well as a person but he’s similar to Drogba. Didier was so strong but with Osimhen, he is also very quick. I’m sure he’ll do a lot of damage in the Premier League.
"Chelsea have so many players and that is a problem. They need to sell players because it’s a mess at Chelsea at the moment. I don’t know a lot about their financial situation but they need to figure out which players should stay and which players should leave.
‘In the Premier League, some clubs loan in players to replace players they have sold for more money but when you look at the situation with Enzo [Fernandez] and [Moises] Caicedo, they bought them for £100m, how much can they sell them for? Not much!."
Chelsea have done a tonne of leg work to sign Osimhen
According to TEAMtalk, Chelsea have done a ton of leg work to sign Osimhen and convince him to join.
Sources have also been clear that the Blues have been at the front of the queue for him, but there are now real fears that Chelsea could miss out on the African, as both Arsenal and PSG could meet his wage demands of around £200,000-per-week.
Pochettino's may not be so keen to meet that, as they don't wish to break their wage structure, so it's believed to be offering their competitors a glimmer of hope.
The race for Osimhen appears to be intensifying as we slowly approach this summer, and it will be interesting to see where this goes.
