Chelsea make £87m striker top target

Chelsea have been in a tough spot this season, but every cloud has a silver lining, right?

The Blues’ hopes of playing in Europe (in any capacity) next season are in doubt, but Blueco has pulled off a significant shake-up by hiring Xabi Alonso as Chelsea’s new first-team manager.

Alonso, 43, is one of the world’s most exciting up-and-coming coaches and his contract called for even more control than his Stamford Bridge predecessor Todd Boley.

One decision the countries made together was the need for a free score number 9.

Chelsea make world-class striker their top target

Joao Pedro has been named Chelsea’s player of the season for the 2025/26 season. The Brazilian forward was not included in Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad, but he is undoubtedly one of the Premier League’s most dangerous attackers.

But he is not a complete frontman and with Liam Delap’s flattery and deception this season, it is clear that Alonso wants a more quality goalscorer.

According to Caught Offside, Chelsea have made Victor Osimhen a priority transfer target for their attacking team this summer, with the Galatasaray striker seen as the perfect player to take the team to the next level.

With a reported transfer fee of around £87 million, Osimhen is one of the most valuable strikers in the world and given that Chelsea have already attempted to sign him, the groundwork is already in place for them to sign someone who can transform their fledgling project.

Why Osimhen is perfect for Chelsea

Osimhen’s career took a major turn in 2024, with his brilliant career at Napoli in tatters and his dreams of joining Chelsea unfulfilled. His lifeline emerged in Türkiye, where Galatasaray played against him.

The 27-year-old has been in an impressive form, scoring 59 goals and providing 16 assists in 74 games across all competitions. The Nigerian frontman also impressed in the Super Lig, but his outstanding performances have only been saved in the Champions League, where he has scored seven goals in 10 games this term and won 5.3 duels per game.

More than just a clinical poacher, Osimhen completed 80% of his dribbles in Europe’s elite competition, highlighting his uncanny ability to drive forward into dangerous areas with pile drives, from where he left the goalkeeper sprawled on the canvas and rippled the net.

There’s definitely something Haaland-esque about the 6-foot-1 attacker, physically strong but also fiercely athletic, perfectly timed runs and shoulder-to-shoulder to force defenders out of his path.

It remains to be seen whether Chelsea will be asked to pay the exorbitant £130m transfer fee Gala appears to be hoping for, but there is no doubt that he has the ability to develop alongside a superstar like Haaland, and maybe even surpass him as Enzo Maresca looks to replace the legendary Josep Guardiola at the Etihad.

He helped Napoli win their first Scudetto in many years and has been hailed as a “world-class” goalscorer by journalist Matt Barlow in the past.

Arsenal writer Harvey Diamonds even went so far as to suggest that Osimhen could be the team’s “answer to Haaland” if they bring Viktor Gökeres to the Emirates this summer to strengthen the squad. Chelsea cannot afford to let that happen as they need to close the gap on their London rivals.

Is he quite at Haaland’s level? Probably not, but then who would? The Norwegian has scored every goal over the years, winning every game for Guardiola as manager, scoring 161 goals and providing 30 assists in just 197 appearances.

Although Haaland is out of reach, signing Osimhen could give Chelsea a significant addition to their next big thing: a Premier League-worthy striker.

After all, Chelsea have already done their homework on the prolific marksman.