“Never say never”- Napoli chief offers Chelsea hope in their pursuit of 24-year-old star

Napoli president Aurelio de Laurentiis willing to sell Chelsea target Victor Osimhen if the right offer arrives

Victor Osimhen has caught the attention of numerous European clubs this season. The two clubs mainly eager to acquire the striker are Chelsea and Manchester United, who could battle for his services (h/t Mirror).

And it is understood the Blues, who are in critical need of a striker, are planning to make a bid once the summer transfer window opens.

Romelu Lukaku and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s acquisitions over the previous two summer transfer windows were a failure. The 24-year-old striker has been attracting the attention of numerous European clubs and is having a successful season with Napoli.

Aurelio de Laurentiis, the club’s president, was hesitant to trade the Nigerian striker, but he might reconsider his stance if an appropriate offer comes in.

Osimhen has scored 20 goals in 24 matches across all competitions and has been one of the best forwards in Italy this campaign. The club’s president was quoted by TNT Sports, via Football Italy (h/t Caught Offside) as saying:

“I am very good at making contracts, so when they come to me, they are blocked, so keeping them here won’t be difficult. However, never say never. Sometimes there are offers you can’t refuse, so you never know. To me, we’ll see them shine for a long time.”

Manchester United and Chelsea would be in a bidding battle over his signing, but we believe we could beat United given our financial strength under Todd Boehly as we did with Arsenal.

Marcus Rashford has been a consistent scorer for Manchester United, and other players have also stepped up when he hasn’t scored, while for us there hasn’t been a reliable goal-scorer.

We only have one striker, Aubameyang, who has been unsuccessful in scoring goals, while Armando Broja is injured and will be out until the end of the season.

A shortage of strikers has forced Graham Potter to experiment with Kai Havertz in the false nine position but the German has not been able to score goals consistently. And despite some significant attacking player signings, we have been lacking in quality up front and undoubtedly need a striker who can capitalise on opportunities wherever they arise.

More Chelsea News:

• N’Golo Kante was seen training with Chelsea but his return remains uncertain
• Chelsea target Victor Osimhen opens the door for a possible summer exit from Napoli
• Chelsea set to battle Tottenham for Brighton striker Evan Ferguson

Osimhen, in that regard, could be ideal. He is of a suitable age profile and has shown that he can score goals at will. He is also the perfect mixture of a player with a huge future ahead of him and one who has already amassed a lot of experience at the very top level.

He is currently destined to win the Serie A title with Napoli, who hold a 15-point lead at the top. After that, let’s hope he seeks a new challenge elsewhere, preferably in west London…