Share
By Ebenezer Bajela.
English Premier League giants, Chelsea, are reportedly ready to double Victor Osimhen’s current salary at Napoli as they hope to lure the Nigerian to Stamford Bridge, with Manchester United and Tottenham also interested in signing the in-form striker.
According to CalcioMercato, Todd Boehly is ready to break the bank once again to sign one of football’s most exciting talents in Serie A’s leading goalscorer this season, with Osimhen leading Napoli’s charge for a first Scudetto title this century with 19 goals in 21 league games.
Osimhen is Napoli’s second-highest earner with a salary of €104,808 (N51m) weekly and €419,232 (N204m) monthly. In total, he earns €5m (N2.5bn) annually at the title-chasing Italian side.
If the report from CalcioMercato is anything to go by, the striker will pocket the sum of N5bn annually if he agrees to join the Blues.
“Ten Hag has put him (Osimhen) at the top of their Manchester United reinforcements list, Chelsea have returned to show up in recent days,” the website wrote.
“Todd Boehly is ready to double the Nigerian striker’s current salary of €4.5m net. The Premier League calls and De Laurentiis already has the answer ready: an offer of €120/€130m will be needed to evaluate a sale of Osimhen.”
As per the report, Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis is unwilling to sell his star forward for cheap, with the Italian slapping a €130m (£115m) price tag on the 24-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window. And as we have seen from Chelsea under Boehly, this fee could actually be met.
The Blues do face competition to sign Osimhen, though, with journalist Rudy Galetti reporting that Tottenham are keen to sign the striker should Harry Kane leave north London this summer, a prospect that is slowly growing with Antonio Conte likely to leave as manager at the end of the season.
Whilst Tottenham could soon have the funds to sign Osimhen, Chelsea’s spending record under Boehly, despite how short his tenure has been at the club, strongly suggests that the 10th-place Premier League side can blow Daniel Levy out of the water with another British-record bid.
Meanwhile, Osimhen is the recipient of another award after he was named 2022 Best Foreign Athlete in Italy.
Osimhen was presented with the award by the Foreign Press in Italy after an incredible year in 2022.
The Super Eagles star has been unstoppable in front of goal for Napoli since the beginning of last year.
Osimhen finished the 2021/22 season with 18 goals and five assists in 32 games, including 14 in 27 league games.
Seven of Osimhen’s 14 league goals last season came in the second half of last season.
The Nigeria international has continued in the same vein this season with 19 league goals in 21 games and two goals in four Champions League matches.
Osimhen scored 10 goals in the first half of the 2022/23 season, including nine in Italy’s topflight despite missing a month of action.
His exceptional displays has now been recognised by the foreign press in Italy, naming him the best foreign athlete in the country in 2022.
Osimhen, who spotted a dark suit with a white shirt, picked up the award in company with Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis.
Osimhen’s fantastic form has also rubbed off on Napoli, who are on course to win their first Serie A title in over 30 years.
The Neapolitans are currently 15 points ahead of Inter Milan with 13 games to left in the season. Osimhen and Napoli return to action when they host Atalanta at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium on Saturday.