Chelsea FC has made plans to sell Romelu Lukaku and sign Victor Osimhen.
“The target of Napoli’s new director is Lukaku, and Chelsea have opened negotiations for a package of €80 million to €90 million plus one prospect for Osimhen,” Italy’s Di Marzio reported on May 5 (ET).
Osimhen was one of the hottest strikers in Europe last season. Along with Kim Min-jae, Osimhen played for Napoli and was a key part of the team that won the Serie A title for the first time in 33 years. Osimhen led Serie A with 26 goals last season and finished eighth in the 2023 Ballon d’Or, making him one of the best strikers in the world.
After the end of last season, Osimhen was heavily rumored to be on the move. Real Madrid, PSG, Manchester United, and other big clubs wanted him, but he chose to stay at Napoli. In December, Osimhen signed a new contract with Napoli until 2026 for the highest weekly wages and treatment in the club’s history.
It seemed like the transfer speculation was over, but the re-signing only sparked more interest from other clubs. Napoli inserted a €130 million ($187.3 million) buyout clause in the new contract. Other teams tried to take advantage of the buyout clause to land Osimhen.
To make matters worse, Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis recently made a decisive statement: “I’ve known since last summer that Osimhen was going to leave. I know perfectly well that he will go to Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, or an English club,” he said.
Chelsea are the favorite to sign Osimhen this summer. Chelsea acquired Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal ahead of the season. After a strong start to the season, Jackson has struggled in the Premier League with 11 goals and four assists in 31 games. Chelsea are looking to replace him with Osimhen.
Lukaku is the player that Chelsea have in mind. Lukaku started playing soccer for Anderlecht’s youth team and was a big fan of Didier Drogba, which is 사설토토 why he moved to Chelsea. However, he didn’t receive regular playing time. Eventually, Lukaku went out on loan. He went on loan to West Bromwich, Everton, and finally, at the end of the 2013-2014 season, he joined Everton outright for a transfer fee of £28 million.
Lukaku scored 87 goals for Everton through the 2016-17 season. At the end of the 2017-18 season, Lukaku joined Manchester United. After just two seasons, however, he headed to Italy, where he joined Inter Milan and scored 30 goals and provided nine assists in 44 games in the 2020-2021 season, winning his first league title as a regular member of the first team.
In the 2021-2022 season, Lukaku returned to Chelsea, but he became a troubled player. In December 2021, Sky Italia published an interview with Lukaku in which he said he was unhappy at Chelsea. Lukaku returned to Inter shortly after the season ended.
But even there, he caused problems. He scored 14 goals and provided seven assists in 37 games last season, leading the Nerazzurri to the UEFA Champions League final, where he missed a crucial chance in the second half. After the season, he fell out of favor with Inter and joined Roma on loan.
Luckily, Lukaku has been resurgent this season. With 11 goals and four assists in 29 games, he is tied for 10th in Serie A scoring. Roma dropped to ninth place midway through the season and sacked head coach Jose Mourinho, but Lukaku’s recent form has helped them climb to fifth in the league with 17 wins, eight draws, and nine losses for 59 points.
Chelsea had planned to sell Lukaku for his unprofessional demeanor and will use him as a bargaining chip in a trade with Napoli, who have been performing well in Serie A. Instead of Lukaku, Chelsea is looking to fill their striker famine with Osimhen.