English Premier League side Chelsea and Italian Serie A side Juventus are reportedly the two European teams who have concrete interest in signing Nigeria international forward Victor Osimhen, OwnGoalNigeria.com understands.
Osimhen is coming off a record breaking season where he scored 36 goals in all competitions to power Galatasary to a league and cup double in Turkey, where he is on loan from recently crowned Italian champions Napoli.
The Nigerian will return to Napoli upon the expiration of his loan, but will leave the club almost immediately following an agreement between both parties when he had a failed move away last summer.
Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia are reportedly the front runners for his signing after agreeing to trigger his release clause of around €75m, and also holding talks with his representative where they made it known, that they are willing to not just match but also surpass his current salary of around €10m a year.
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However Chelsea are said to have also contacted his representative, and will go ahead with a bid for him if they are able to secure Champions League football when the English Premier League ends tomorrow.
During last summer transfer window, a late move to Chelsea broke down after both parties failed to reach a compromise on his salary with Chelsea pushing for him to reduce his wages, but ran out of time before an agreement could be reached.
This time around Chelsea will be able and willing to match his salary demand if they make it to the UEFA Champions League, but will still try to sign him if he is open to the idea of taking a pay cut with sources saying Osimhen is still keen on remaining in Europe.
Daniel Martins
