Osimhen deal revived as January transfer spree approved – Chelsea's future without Boehly

Chelsea may have missed out on their main target in the summer transfer window, but the club have already been handed a major boost over their spending plans for 2025. Despite extensive negotiations with Napoli over a move for Victor Osimhen, they failed to agree a deal for the Nigerian striker – even though he reportedly wanted to move to west London.

However, Osimhen – who has since moved to Galatasaray on a season-long loan – will be available to buy again in January with the Serie A club having the option to cut short his spell in Turkey if an offer comes in.

The 25-year-old is also said to have already agreed to a lower release clause, with the current figure of £110million set to drop to around £63m.

And Chelsea’s hopes of a winter deal could inadvertently be further helped by the reported ongoing fall-out between Chelsea co-owners Behdad Eghbali and Todd Boehly. The pair are said to be at loggerheads over proposals to switch the club to a different location, with plans for a stadium in Earls Court already drawn up.

Bloomberg report the relationship between Eghbali and Boehly has deteriorated due to a difference of opinion on several different matters. The club’s transfer policy, their disappointing performances and results on the pitch and the lack of progress towards building a new stadium are key points of contention, it is claimed.

The development has put Boehly’s future at the club in doubt, with the American businessman having been heavily criticised for his lavish spending since taking over with Eghbali in 2022. The latter, co-founder and managing partner of investment firm Clearlake Capital, had taken a more active role in the transfer activity this summer.

Indeed, sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart are said to have reported to the Iranian-born businessman. And with Eghbali clearly intent on continuing to bolster the squad, while also negotiating the release of a host of other players, reviving the Osimhen deal is set to be one of the club’s main priorities in early 2025.

Comments from former Chelsea icon John Obi Mikel, who claimed to be acting as mediator with Winstanley over the transfer talks for his compatriot, have further suggested a January deal is on the cards irrespective of Boehly’s club status. “I think if we have to pick this back up again whenever it is, January or next summer,” he said on The Obi One Podcast.

“We know where we are, we know where we’ve stopped, and it’s just little details that need to be finalised and the deal will be done. So for me, the club (Chelsea) is in a very happy place with Victor and Victor is in a very happy place with the club.”

Mikel has also backed Osimhen to shine if he does eventually land in the Premier League. “He wants to come to Chelsea, he wants to help the club get back to where it should be,” he added. “He knows he can score a lot of goals in the Premier League and what a better place to do that than his childhood club (who he supported) Chelsea.”

Osimhen enjoyed hero status at Napoli in the 2022/23 campaign, scoring 26 league goals as The Parthenopeans landed a first top-flight title since 1990. But he failed to replicate that form in the following campaign after making it clear he favoured a move elsewhere this summer.

Chelsea’s position appeared to be strengthened when Romelu Lukaku was allowed to move in the opposite direction in a £30m deal. However, with the club also battling profit and sustainability regulations (PSR), they reluctantly called off their pursuit of Osimhen in the final week of the window.

But if Boehly makes for the Chelsea exit by selling his shares, Eghbali would have free reign to resume his extravagant spending by reviving a deal for Osimhen and potentially land more new signings in January.