Chelsea Rejects Osimhen’s £500,000-a-week Demand

Femi Solaja with agency report

Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen’s touted move to West London with Chelsea is off the mark following the decision of the Blues to reject his £500,000-a-week salary demand from Stamford Bridge. 

Osimhen’s proposed switch in the ongoing transfer window has been trending in the market with PSG and the London duo of Arsenal and Chelsea aiming to grab the Napoli forward but now the uncertainty of his next destination is in the air because stay at the former Italian champions, looks over for the Nigerian forward.

According to The Sun of London, the extraordinary salary demand would make Osimhen the highest-paid player in the Premier League. 

The Blues have been working all summer long to get the deal over the line and talks with the striker’s representatives and Napoli have been ongoing for several weeks but it is understood that an agreement is still nowhere in sight.

The Stamford Bridge side originally tried to sign the Napoli star on loan as they were unwilling to pay his £110million release clause, but the Italian club rejected the proposal.

However, Napoli was willing to let Osimhen go and had to lower his asking price to £85m but the wages are proving a stumbling block.

Osimhen is expected to leave Napoli this summer regardless of whether or not his deal with Chelsea goes through as the forward submitted a formal transfer request to the Italian club. 

PSG are also interested in the 25-year-old but have cooled off their pursuit for now.

The Blues are eager to get the deal over the line since the Nigerian footballer has long been identified as a long-term target for the club.

However, to meet Osimhen’s wage demands or even come close, they have been working tirelessly to reduce their wage bill.

This is why we have seen many of Chelsea’s first-team players exiled and forced to train away from Enzo Maresca’s squad, including Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling. 

The Sun reports that the Blues have started looking at alternatives for the Nigerian forward due to his remarkable wage demands.

Two cheaper options identified by the West London club are Federico Chiesa from Juventus and Everton’s Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Five attacking players have already been welcomed to Stamford Bridge this summer but head coach Maresca has told the club that he wants one more striker. 

Although Christopher Nkunku and Cole Palmer are both able to play the striker role if called upon, the Blues only have two natural No9s in their squad – Nicolas Jackson and new signing Marc Guiu, who arrived from Barcelona.