Fabrizio Romano provides update on Chelsea signing Victor Osimhen as new number 9 striker

Fabrizio Romano has been discussing Chelsea’s chances of signing Napoli striker Victor Osimhen next month .

However, Fabrizio Romano had a warning for Chelsea fans in one of his recent columns on Substack.

The Italian journalist claimed that the Blues landing Osimhen next month looks “impossible”.

That is likely because of the new contract the 24-year-old could sign.

According to the Evening Standard, Osimhen has agreed a fresh deal with Napoli. And while the same outlet has claimed that it does have a release clause, you would not expect it to become active so soon. It means Chelsea may have to delay their pursuit of the Nigerian until the summer if they want him.

If Osimhen does go on to put pen to paper on a new contract, which looks imminent, then Chelsea probably have no chance of landing him in the January transfer window.

He is not going to sign a fresh deal then leave a couple of weeks later. That would make no sense, while Napoli probably have some sort of plan to keep him at the club for a bit longer, such as including a release clause that cannot be triggered until the summer.

It would leave Chelsea with a big decision to make. Do they wait until then to try and sign Osimhen, or do they target another striker like Ivan Toney, for example.

It will be interesting to see what happens, but Osimhen is definitely one name to keep an eye on next year. He may not be available in the winter transfer window, but a release clause in any potential new contract makes a departure at some point inevitable when you consider his quality.