According to reports, Chelsea of the Premier League has reached a pre-agreement to recruit Victor Osimhen, the top scorer in Serie A last season, from Napoli.
Osimhen, who recently inked a £112 million release clause in his contract extension with Napoli, will not be joining Chelsea in January, according to TEAMtalk. Instead, he has decided to sign a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea this month, with the intention of joining Chelsea at the end of the current campaign.
The 25-year-old international player from Nigeria has excelled over the past two seasons, helping Napoli win the Serie A championship for the first time in more than thirty years last year.
With seven goals in 13 league games this season, the African Player of the Year has maintained his outstanding form from the previous season. He is still a Napoli fan favorite and has also picked up two assists.
Osimhen has been chosen by manager Mauricio Pochettino as the ideal player to turn around Chelsea, a club that has been incredibly inconsistent this season. Pochettino has been pressuring the board to add more experienced players to the roster.
The TEAMtalk report stated, “The Napoli star man will not move this month – the pre-agreement is the only way that a deal will be agreed in this window.”
“Napoli will demand that the Nigerian international sign a new contract with a large fee attached, with a release clause of approximately £112 million if a deal is to be sanctioned this month.”
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Chelsea is also under pressure to act quickly because several teams will probably be vying for Osimhen’s signature in the summer, which might lead to a transfer war.
“Several Italian sources believe that this is the final season they will witness the 25-year-old in the iconic light blue of the Serie A champions and anticipate some movement to occur in the upcoming weeks.”
The story goes on to say that Osimhen’s talks with Chelsea’s stars Didier Drogba and John Obi-Mikel helped persuade the Nigerian striker to accept the club’s offer.
