Osimhen Refuses Pay Cut for Chelsea Move

Football transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has asserted that Victor Osimhen will not accept a pay cut to facilitate a move to Chelsea, NIGERIA NEWS 247 reports.

Romano hinted that Chelsea’s pursuit of the Napoli striker might extend to the final week of the transfer window.

With the new Premier League season approaching and Chelsea in desperate need of a reliable goal scorer, the club has intensified its search. While they are close to securing a deal for Atletico Madrid attacker Samu Omorodion, Osimhen remains a top target to lead their line for the 2024/25 campaign.

Osimhen, a highly sought-after striker, has been linked with Chelsea, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, and Liverpool. However, his hefty €130m release clause has deterred many suitors, with PSG being the only European club still keen on signing him.

There has been talk of a potential swap deal involving Romelu Lukaku, as Chelsea may not be able to activate the £113m release clause in Osimhen’s Napoli contract. Currently Serie A’s highest earner at around £325,000 a week, Osimhen is expected to leave Napoli before the transfer window closes.

Romano stated that Osimhen is not willing to accept a pay cut to move to Stamford Bridge and that the potential transfer could go down to the final week of the window.

“Forget about Victor Osimhen taking a pay cut; he won’t reduce his salary. This will be a deal I think will go down to the final week of the window,” Romano said, as quoted by Football Transfers.

Osimhen joined Napoli from Lille in the summer of 2020 for a club record fee of €70m plus another €10m in bonuses. The 25-year-old has been in top form for Napoli over the past two seasons, guiding them to their first Scudetto in over three decades in the 2022/23 season and scoring 26 league goals to earn the top scorer award.