Chelsea made a bold early move in the first mini transfer window of the summer, snapping up £30m striker Liam Delap in a statement signing ahead of their Club World Cup campaign.
Enzo Maresca had reportedly hoped to add a few more names to his squad before the America-based tournament kicked off, giving him a chance to bed in new faces and assess how they fit his system.
Beyond the earlier-arranged signing of Mamadou Sarr and the recent arrival of Dario Essugo from Sporting CP, however, the rest of Chelsea’s transfer targets remain just that – targets.
Among those was Victor Osimhen, a name that refuses to go away from Stamford Bridge gossip. Football.londonpreviously reported that Chelsea had submitted a bid for the Nigerian international toward the end of last summer, though a deal never materialised.
Now, after an explosive loan spell with Galatasaray – 37 goals in 41 games – Osimhen is back on Chelsea’s radar. Yet the main stumbling block isn’t just the £63.5m release clause Napoli are holding out for – it’s also the Saudi clubs circling with blank cheques in hand.
Still, if Chelsea had moved earlier and activated the clause, they’d have landed one of Europe’s most potent No.9s. For Maresca, Osimhen would not only have been a guaranteed goal scorer but also a player who could lead the line with confidence and power.
But that move might have had consequences with one being the impact on Delap, a player Chelsea clearly rate highly. Introducing a world-class striker could risk demotivating a young forward just brought in for significant money.
There were other opportunities too. Jamie Gittens was reportedly close to joining Chelsea, but the club sensibly decided not to rush into the deal.
Instead, attention could have turned to someone like Alejandro Garnacho – a player bursting with Premier League experience and exactly the kind of high-energy forward Maresca could have built around.
With Manchester United’s fire sale under Sir Jim Ratcliffe in full swing, and new manager Ruben Amorim keen to reshape the squad, Garnacho was one of the few players Chelsea would have been wise to explore. At 20, he has the pace, technique, and attacking instincts to thrive under the right manager.
However, United’s staggering £70m asking price for a player who featured just 19 minutes in the Europa League final was always going to be a hard sell – not just for Chelsea, but for other interested clubs like Napoli too.
Then there’s the goalkeeper situation. Chelsea currently face a mild crisis between the sticks, with Robert Sanchez starting against LAFC despite his uncertain long-term role. A move for AC Milan’s Mike Maignan would have solved that headache in one stroke. Chelsea did approach the Italian side, but with a considerable gap in valuations, talks quickly collapsed.
Maignan would have instantly become Maresca’s No.1 – and perhaps more crucially, allowed the club to shift several of the seven goalkeepers currently on their books. Kepa Arrizabalaga appears close to an exit, but the Blues are still juggling too many options in a position where clarity is vital.
Ultimately, had Chelsea landed Osimhen, Garnacho and Maignan during the early window, it would have been seen as an ambitious – albeit expensive – success. As it stands, Maresca has one headline addition in Delap and a lot of questions still to answer before the main summer window gathers full steam.
