Chelsea’s long pursuit of Victor Osimhen looks like it could be over.
After so many consecutive transfer windows linked with the Napoli striker, the latest reports are that we won’t be finally signing him.
On Sky Sports Italy, Gianluca Di Marzio explained that despite interest from the Blues, the forward’s wage demands were just too great, meaning that talks have broken down at an early stage.
“He has a very high salary and that’s why Chelsea didn’t go forward because after a meeting with his agent, they didn’t find an agreement with the salary,” the insider reported on his show for Sky today.
This will be the summer Osimhen finally moves – but it won’t be to Stamford Bridge. Reinforcements will certainly be needed up top – we’re just one Nicolas Jackson injury away from basically having no number 9s in the squad once Armando Broja is sold – but it looks likely to be a more affordable option than the world class Nigerian.
A sensible decision for a team looking to be sustainable
We’re gutted to not get Osimhen, who is clearly a top level player and a major improvement on our current options in attack, despite a bit of an off season.
But it’s good to be sensible with these things, and it’s nice to know that this ownership do actually know how to walk away from things, even if they don’t always show it. It’s also good to not get drawn into a protracted negotiation which drags on all summer and precludes us moving for other, more realistic targets.
As we’ve learned the hard way before, giving a player a massive contract doesn’t just mean a one off – it means every other player on your books looking at them and thinking “why don’t I earn that much.” It’s a dangerous path to go down.