Reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano says Chelsea have clearly informed one club that they will make a move for their £100m-plus star before deadline day.
Busy window at Chelsea with more signings expected
Yet again, Todd Boehly and BlueCo have orchestrated another busy transfer window at Stamford Bridge, as they financially back new manager Enzo Maresca with a plethora of new additions.
£162k-per-week star tempted by Chelsea as two ex-players urge him to join
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Most recently, Chelsea confirmed the signing of Premier League winger Pedro Neto in a £54 million deal from Wolves, coming after the Portuguese was heavily linked with an exit from Molineux all summer.
Neto could even make his English top flight debut for Chelsea on Sunday as they prepare to face-off in their opening game of the season against Man City, alongside other new senior additions like Filip Jorgensen, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tosin Adarabioyo.
Cole Palmer
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Conor Gallagher
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Moises Caicedo
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Beyond the clash against City, there is every reason to believe that a couple of new faces could also be in line to feature for the first time in a Chelsea shirt, if Boehly and co can get the heavily-linked names over the line.
One of those is Napoli star Victor Osimhen, and his possible switch to Stamford Bridge is closely tied with that Romelu Lukaku. It is believed that Lukaku has agreed a three-year deal to join Napoli, while Osimhen could trade places with the Belgian by moving to Chelsea.
Chelsea directly inform Napoli they will move for Osimhen
Writing in a Dailybriefing, Romano has shared an update on the saga and Chelsea's intentions regarding the former Lille star.
He says that Chelsea have clearly told Napoli that they will move for Osimhen, but it is unclear what fee they're willing to fork out for him, or if it is anywhere close to his £100 million-plus release clause.
"We know that Lukaku has an agreement with Napoli for a three-year contract, the salary is okay and the player is already talking with Antonio Conte. He wants to go to Napoli, but work is still ongoing," wrote Romano this week.
"During these conversations I can tell you, once again, that Chelsea told Napoli clearly that they have Victor Osimhen on their list and they want to make a move for him, but as of now, Chelsea have still not presented a contract proposal to the player.
"So, I would say we are still at the early stages of the Osimhen story, but at the advanced stages of the Lukaku story.
"As I always told you, Osimhen will not go on loan and will not reduce his salary from €11m net, so Chelsea still need to do some work on the player side before saying ‘okay, we are now at the key stages of the Osimhen story."
The 25-year-old has been one of Serie A's most prolific scorers ever since he moved to Italy in 2020, with Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola calling him a "devastating" forward player.