Chelsea could use wantaway star in deal to sign Victor Osimhen ahead of Man Utd

Chelsea could use one of their wantaway stars in a deal to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen ahead of Manchester United.

Premier League rivals Chelsea and Man United look set to go head-to-head in the battle to sign Nigeria ace Osimhen this summer.

The 24-year-old is enjoying a sensational season in Naples, scoring 26 goals in 31 appearances to help Luciano Spalletti’s go 14 points clear at the top of Serie A.

Chelsea believe Osimhen could solve their goalscoring issues, having relied on Kai Havertz for much of the season following Romelu Lukaku’s return to Italy last summer.

The Blues signed former Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on deadline-day but his spell in west London has been disastrous and all parties are ready to cut ties at the end of the season.

But Chelsea face fierce competition from Manchester United in the race to sign Osimhen, with Erik ten Hag said to be determined to bring the goalscorer to Old Trafford.

United are in the market for a new striker having released Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in the season and using Burnley loanee Wout Weghorst up top in the second-half of the campaign.

Chelsea may have an upper hand over Manchester United, however, as Napoli are interested in signing Hakim Ziyech and there is a feeling that he could be used in a deal involving Osimhen, according to the Daily Mirror.

The Blues want to offload around 10 players this summer and have already indicated that Morocco winger Ziyech will be put up for sale.

The 30-year-old enjoyed four impressive seasons at Ajax before a £33m move to Stamford Bridge in 2020 but has flopped in the Premier League.

Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter was willing to send Ziyech out on loan in January but a deadline-day move to Paris Saint-Germain fell through due to paperwork issues.

Chelsea are preparing for a summer clear-out primarily so the club can recoup some of the £600m Todd Boehly has spent on new signings, but also because there is a consensus that so many players has made it impossible for the team to thrive this season.

The west London club have dropped into the bottom-half of the Premier League and were knocked out of the Champions League last week by Real Madrid.

While Osimhen has been one of the best players in Europe this season, he was unable to prevent Napoli from also crashing out of the Champions League at the hands of Serie A rivals AC Milan.

Given the substantial interest in Osimhen, Napoli will demand a fee of more than £100m to part ways with the striker this summer.