Chelsea plotting January bid for Serie A striker

Chelsea’s brief run of good form came to an abrupt end on Saturday as they were beaten 4-1 by Newcastle United at St James’ Park. 

The Blues had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 and drawn 4-4 with Manchester City prior to the international break, but they were unable to extend that run against the Magpies.

With Mauricio Pochettino in the stands as he served a touchline ban, the West London outfit only had themselves to blame as a number of individual errors allowed the hosts to cruise to a comfortable victory.

Captain Reece James was also sent off for Chelsea in the second-half, compounding Pochettino’s frustration.

Now, it appears that the Blues could make a sensational swoop for a Serie A star in January.

As per 90min, Chelsea are planning to bring their pursuit of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen forward to the January transfer window.

Osimhen is said to be Chelsea’s top target as they search for a striker

It is claimed that the Premier League club have been interested in Osimhen for some time now, but decided to pursue other targets over the summer when the player looked likely to sign a new contract with Napoli.

Negotiations over a contract extension have since stalled, though, and Chelsea could therefore look to take advantage of the situation and make an offer for the Nigeria international in January.

Osimhen, 24, joined Napoli from French side Lille in the summer of 2020, and has since had an immense impact at the club.

Since moving to Naples, the Nigerian forward has scored 65 goals and provided 16 assists in 112 matches across all competitions.

Last season, he netted 26 goals in 32 matches to help Napoli lift the Serie A title for the first time in three decades.

Despite his importance to his current side, it appears increasingly likely that Osimhen will be on the move next summer and Chelsea could test their Italian counterparts’ resolve with an offer in January.

The striker is likely to come at a significant cost, though, with the report claiming that the player could cost the Blues in excess of the £115 million club record fee that they paid for Moises Caicedo over the summer.