For Victor Osimhen, after fulfilling one of his goals, what next? Last night, the Nigerian striker was recognized as the best player in Africa, over the likes of Mo Salah and, Achraf Hakimi and Riyad Mahrez. So, what next for the Super Eagles and Napoli striker? We think Chelsea (after the 2024 AFCON tournament, of course) It is no secret that Chelsea have struggled to fill the centre forward position since Diego Costa left the club in 2018. A succession of attackers have tried and failed to deliver the goods, either due to a lack of suitability to the role, failure to cope with the pressures of pleasing the Stamford Bridge crowd, or just not being good enough. And to a fanbase that grew up watching Didier Drogba terrorize defenders, the frontmen leading the line have been all too underwhelming for Chelsea fans. Whatever the case, the answer to the Blues’ goalscoring conundrum does not lie with Nicolas Jackson, despite (or because of) his 6 goals in 17 appearances this season. If Chelsea have designs on returning to the glory days, a world class striker must be brought in — enter Victor Osimhen. Osimhen finished last season as top scorer in Serie A with 26 goals, becoming the first-ever African to win the Golden Boot. His elite-level marksmanship helped Napoli to a first Scudetto in 33 years, in the process cultivating a mythical status in the city of Naples. The Nigerian also earned recognition for his super performances with an 8th place Ballon d’Or finish and was named the African Footballer of The Year last night. Bearing all of this in mind, Napoli’s high valuation of the 24-year-old makes sense on several levels. They have reportedly demanded a fee in excess of £100 million to sell Osimhen, a figure that is certainly not beyond the reach of Chelsea co-owners Todd Boehly and Baghdad Eghbali, who have spent over a billion pounds on a complete squad overhaul since the takeover. There are several reasons why Chelsea should go after Osimhen, with the foremost being the Super Eagles star’s on-pitch qualities.
Osimhen’s centre forward style Osimhen’s ability to put the ball in the net with relative ease is no secret. Last season, the Nigerian striker netted an impressive 26 goals in 32 league games, averaging 0.81 goals per game—only trailing behind Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappé in the goals per game metric. His unique playing style as a penalty-box striker sets him apart. Opta data reveals that all 26 league goals he scored last season came from inside the box, distinguishing him from deep-lying forwards like Harry Kane and aligning him more closely with the likes of Erling Haaland. **Are Napoli willing to sell?** With a contract that is set to run until 2025, chatter about Osimhen’s future should not be this loud. However, a series of events over the past few months have made a long-term stay in Naples unlikely. According to reports in Italy, Napoli president, Aurelio de Laurentiis held talks with the player over a new contract after the summer transfer window closed. The negotiations apparently came to no conclusion, before a bizarre social media post from the club seemingly made fun of the striker by highlighting a recent penalty miss. Despite complaints and even threats of legal action from Osimhen's agent, Napoli refused to apologize for the controversial video. Now, two months later, the club’s president, De Laurentiis, appears to have accepted the likelihood of selling the player in January. In an interview, De Laurentiis stated, “I have never been unhappy towards Osimhen, but there are always two of us in these things.” He acknowledged the possibility that Osimhen's mood had changed regarding a new deal and expressed disappointment if things changed after a handshake. Napoli released a statement downplaying a “tense situation” but emphasized that the striker initially agreed to a new contract before reportedly reconsidering, fueling ongoing speculation about a potential departure in January.
**Why Chelsea must go all out to sign Osimhen** This is a simple one. Because he’s the best available option out there and currently, the other European giants doing better than them either already have an elite striker on their books (Bayern Munich, Manchester City), have their eyes set on another world-class forward (Real Madrid), or cannot hope to compete with Chelsea’s blank cheque book. (Arsenal & Liverpool) Chelsea are joint 8th for goals scored in the Premier League (26 from an xG of 30.3), and despite outplaying their opponents in 5 of their 7 defeats this season, they sit 12th in the standings. Pochettino’s men have struggled to put away easy chances and are currently 11th in the league for shots taken and shots on target through the first 16 games. So, how can Osimhen solve this? To answer this, we’ll revisit his title-winning campaign to get an adequate sample size of what he brings to an attack. Last season, he ranked fifth for both shots per 90, and shots inside the box. He also ranked third for non-penalty expected goals. Furthermore, he averaged 4.3 shots per 90 in Serie A since last season, compared to Nicolas Jackson’s 3.1, and scored at a rate of 0.6 goals per 90 on an xG of 0.64. to put it plainly, he is as deadly as they come and would instantly make Chelsea more threatening.
**Victor Osimhen has scored 6 goals in 13 appearances for Napoli this season** Can Chelsea create enough chances for Osimhen to thrive? Based on the evidence so far this season, the short answer is yes. According to SofaScore, the Blues have created 50 big chances in the English Premier League this season and missed a staggering 32 big chances. The likes of Raheem Sterling, Mykhailo Mudryk, Connor Gallagher and Armando Broja have all missed chances at crucial points in games. However, summer signing Nicola Jackson is the biggest culprit. The Senegal international has 10 big chances missed in his 15 EPL appearances — in sharp contrast to Osimhen, who has scored 6 goals in 11 appearances and missed just 6 big chances in the Serie A this season. Despite what would be a considerable outlay, signing Osimhen will instantly boost Chelsea’s chances of making a strong push for European places, after what has been a disappointing first half of the season. His blend of pace, power, skill, and instinctive finishing could catapult a lethargic Chelsea team to the upper rungs of the Premier League. The Blues are patiently awaiting the return of Christoper Nkunku from a long-term injury and a partnership of Nkunku and Osimhen has the potential to be one of the deadliest in Europe. In conclusion, signing Osimhen could force Chelsea to break their transfer record, but the concept of overpaying is not new to Boehly and his spendthrift board, having recently paid £107 million to sign Enzo Fernandez and £115 million for Moises Caicedo. The Nigerian is a guarantee of goals and could quickly become the missing piece at Stamford Bridge — a bonafide goalscorer to take Chelsea back to the top. And as his recent CAF award shows, there’s still plenty more to come. Take advantage of BetKing’s high odds by backing Osimhen to return to his best form to win the Serie A Golden Boot for a second consecutive year.
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