Chelsea tipped to pay up for Victor Osimhen amid ‘£100m+’ claim – pundit
Alan Hutton has backed Chelsea to pay up for Victor Osimhen in the summer.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, the former Tottenham and Aston Villa defender was “very surprised” the Blues didn’t add another striker in the January window.
Last week (14 February), sources told this site that another number nine is a top priority for the recruitment team at Stamford Bridge ahead of the summer window, with Osimhen, 24, high on their list of targets.
But Napoli maintain that the goalscorer is not for sale and privately claim that it will take a club record fee for any team to sign him at the end of the season.
The forward is out of contract in 2025 and is set to be the subject of a lot of transfer interest when the window opens.
Hutton believes Chelsea would be willing to pay up for Osimhen.
“They need a striker definitely,” he told Football Insider.
“I am very surprised that they have not got one so far. The situation with Lukaku and everything has not worked out.
“Osimhen is an outstanding footballer. I saw him play against Rangers in the Champions League as well.
“Napoli are absolutely flying this season but they paid about £70m for him before he hit this run of form, so they obviously saw something in him early on.
“He has got pace, he is big, strong, aggressive, he can score goals. It is going to be over the £100m but if any team can pay that it seems to be Chelsea at this moment in time.
“So maybe that is an area where they will strengthen but I think they need bodies out the door and quite a number.“
In other news, according to sources, five Chelsea first-team stars put up for sale.