Chelsea look to complete audacious dual deal for players with combined value of over £100m

Chelsea look to sign Omorodion and Osimhen together

Chelsea are extremely busy in the transfer market in the days leading up to their Premier League opener against Manchester City.

Conor Gallagher’s sale to Atletico Madrid is all but pending official confirmation, whereas Rojiblancos striker Samu Omorodion is expected to be on his way to Stamford Bridge imminently. Both players are expected to be moving for transfer fees in the range of £34 million.

Despite being on the verge of completing a deal for Omorodion, Chelsea are refusing to die down in their pursuit of Napoli superstar Victor Osimhen, as per the Telegraph. The Blues are hoping they can pay a reasonable fee to bring the Nigerian to Stamford Bridge by including Romelu Lukaku in a swap deal.

The Belgian is keen on a reunion in Naples with former Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte but his move is halted due to Napoli wanting to get rid of Osimhen first.

Osimhen and Napoli have already agreed on the player’s sale this summer and his valuation has dropped to £85 million in recent weeks. No European club keen on his services showed an inclination to pay the forward’s £110 million release clause, which resulted in the Serie A giants considerably easing their demands.

Lukaku’s price tag, meanwhile, stands at £38 million, so Chelsea are hoping they can purchase Osimhen by paying the difference of £45 million. The Blues are confident that Enzo Maresca will be able to manage three strikers next season, particularly due to Nicolas Jackson’s ability to play on the left wing.

Osimhen’s signing will be a massive boost for the Blues as they will be able to sign a striker who can virtually guarantee them over 20 goals in a season and prove to be a handy playmaker as well due to his fantastic physique and hold-up play. The striker’s output could potentially be the difference between them and a top-four finish in the Premier League.

Though Omorodion is set to arrive from Atletico Madrid, he is still just 20 and may not be able to handle the pressure at Stamford Bridge right from the word go. It is fair to say that his attributes also need to be finetuned before he can get up and running and as an understudy for Osimhen, the player can concentrate on his development under the African star’s watchful eyes.

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It will be interesting to see how much urgency Chelsea and Napoli show in their bids to complete the Lukaku-Osimhen swap, although both clubs will hope that the deal falls into place in time for their first league matches of 2024/25.