Chelsea ‘close to signing Victor Osimhen from Napoli in swap deal’… with former Blues manager Antonio Conte ‘wanting TWO players plus £39m for striker’

Chelsea are reportedly set to make a £39million swap for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen.

The Blues have already spent almost £200million on 12 players this summer, with Pedro Neto the latest to join following his £54million move from Wolves.

Mail Sport previously reported that Chelsea had been offered Osimhen as part of a swap deal involving disgraced striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Sun now reports that Napoli manager Antonio Conte wants two players and £39million in exchange for Osimhen.

It is claimed he wants Lukaku – who joined for £97.5m in 2021 – and young midfielder Cesare Casadei (£17m) plus £39m to complete the transfer.

Victor Osimhen is reportedly set to make a £39million move to Chelsea, which would see two Blues stars head in opposite directions

Napoli manager Antonio Conte wants Romelu Lukaku involved in any potential deal for Osimhen

Conte is also said to be keen on Cesare Casadei being included in a £39m swap deal

Negotiations over Osimhen’s future have been going on for several days.

Napoli’s sporting director Giovanni Manna is in London to talk to Chelsea about a possible transfer.

He has explored possible transfers for Manchester United’s Scott McTominay and Brighton’s Billy Gilmour.

Casadei is a player Chelsea could potentially throw into the mix for Osimhen, along with Lukaku – who spent the last two seasons on loan in Italy with Internazionale and Roma.

Napoli confirmed earlier this month that Osimhen wanted to leave the club after he was left out of the Coppa Italia squad for the match against Modena.

Osimhen has enjoyed success in Serie A for many years, scoring 31 goals in all competitions in the 2022-23 season, helping Napoli to the title.

Enzo Maresca’s team are keen to sign another attacker despite the arrival of Neto.

A transfer for Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid seemed to have fallen through, causing the sale of Conor Gallagher to be halted and the reverse happened.

Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea team have been busy so far during the summer transfer window

Despite a quieter season in 2023-24, he is still a sought-after player and is highly admired by Paris Saint-Germain and clubs from Saudi Arabia.

Osimhen is so sought after that two Chelsea icons are approaching him with convincing intentions: John Obi Mikel and Didier Drogba.

“I hope Chelsea fans finally see him come to the club. I will make sure I send him those texts and calls so Chelsea is his top priority,” Mikel said.

“But it seems like he loves the club and wants to come to Chelsea. I’m sure all the big clubs want to sign him. I think it would be fantastic for the club if we could get his signature.

‘Didier also speaks to him, shares his own ideas and what the club means to us. We all want Victor to come to the club. If it happens, it happens. It’s a huge transfer fee, but if we can match that and bring him to the club, that would be absolutely fantastic.’

Osimhen has previously been linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain after the French club lost star striker Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid this summer.

Lukaku failed to live up to expectations after returning to Stamford Bridge in 2021 and Chelsea are keen to let him go.

Casadei, 21, has barely featured since signing for Chelsea in 2022. He spent part of last season on loan at Leicester, where he worked with the Blues’ new manager Maresca.