Chelsea alarm bells ring over Victor Osimhen as £68m setback heats transfer race up again

Chelsea may need to act quickly if they are to secure the signature of Napoli forward Victor Osimhen, amid interest from elsewhere in Europe.

The Blues have splashed the cash this summer, welcoming nine new signings to their ranks already and Enzo Maresca is planning for further new arrivals. Pedro Neto, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Filip Jorgensen are among those to have committed their future to the Chelsea project.

However, there is still a void in the final third that the club are looking to fill. The Blues are hoping to sign an out-and-out striker before the transfer window closes, having failed to secure the signature of Samu Omorodion from Atletico Madrid.

Osimhen is largely cited as Chelsea’s top striker target and talks have been ongoing over a swap deal for the Nigeria international involving Romelu Lukaku.

Negotiations have been in progress for a matter of weeks without a sign that a deal is imminent, so an injury to Paris Saint-Germain forward Goncalo Ramos would certainly have sounded alarm bells at Stamford Bridge.

The Ligue 1 outfit are also long-term admirers of Osimhen and are expected to dip into the striker market for reinforcements now that they are set to be without their No. 9 for an extended period of time.

According to RMC Sport, PSG have decided that they will sign another forward as they anticipate that Ramos will be sidelined for at least three months, with fears growing at the Parc des Princes that their £68million signing (£55m plus £13m in add-ons) suffered serious ligament damage to his left ankle.

The Ligue 1 outfit had previously ruled that they could not justify pushing for Osimhen whilst they had Ramos and Randal Kolo Muani available, but that is no longer the case and suddenly striking a deal with Napoli is likely to be a firm consideration.