Chelsea’s pursuit for a new striker is set to heat up in the next few weeks as the club look to bring in a new No.9 over the course of the summer transfer window.
It is football’s worst kept secret that Chelsea are in the market for a striker this summer as the club’s sporting directors look to give Enzo Maresca the necessary tools to compete next season. This term, Nicolas Jackson has been the Blues’ go-to No.9, with Marc Guiu a back-up option. Other than that, Chelsea have been forced to use attackers out of position to act as a false nine.
Maresca has made it clear to the public that he wants the club to recruit a central attacker, with one option being Victor Osimhen from Napoli. Chelsea tried to sign the 26-year-old striker last summer but his wage demands proved to be the ultimate stumbling block.
Osimhen instead moved to Galatasaray on a season-long loan and has lit the Turkish top-flight up this term. So much so that Gala supporters are desperate for the Nigeria international to stay put in Istanbul next term. After he opened the scoring in the title-clinching win against Kayserispor on Sunday, there were chants of Osimhen’s name from the fans, as well as a banner being held up that read: “Stay with us, not because you have to, but because you want to.”
There is plenty of noise coming out of Italy that Osimhen is not in Napoli’s plans moving forward, so the striker is widely expected to leave the Serie A club come the summer. Either way, Osimhen will only focus on his future once the season is over, with Gala having two more games left to play.
Speaking in February, Osimhen said: “I don’t know [about the future], to be honest. A few months ago, nobody ever thought I would come to Galatasaray, despite how big of a club they are.
“I live for the moment. For what’s going to happen in the summer, I don’t know, but I want everyone to understand something: I really love this club so much. I love the fans, I love everyone associated with this club, from the president down to the coaching staff.”
It seems Osimhen really loves it in Istanbul, but someone with the reputation that he has may want to move on to bigger and better things in his career. Chelsea hold a tentative interest – with the striker never leaving the club’s radar – but are aware his wage demands are unlikely to have gone down at all, especially after a record-breaking campaign in Turkey.
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