Chelsea qualified for Europe last season, combatting the wretched nature of the previous campaign, but the forthcoming campaign in the Conference League is not where the Blues want to be.
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Fabrizio Romano has provided an update in the race for Napoli striker Victor Osimhen, who is pushing to leave the 2022/23 Serie A champions and is firmly on Chelsea's radar as they seek a new star at No. 9.
Chelsea are joined by Paris Saint-Germain in being the chief contenders for the Nigerian's signature, but with Antonio Conte's Napoli hoping to sign Romelu Lukaku, the Premier League side might hold the chips in the race.
Say what you want about Todd Boehly, but you can't say that he's lacking in ambition. Chelsea have spent with a scattergun approach over the past few years, and while it's been polished, some of that lucrative enterprise would need to be harnessed if Osimhen is going to move to London.
There's no disguising the shambolic nature of Napoli's title defence last term, finishing tenth with 53 points. Osimhen played his part though, scoring 15 goals from 22 starts in the Italian top flight as he battled through injuries, unable to show the full scope of his skillset.
The year before, however, he was utterly breathtaking as I Partenopei won the Scudetto with imperious ease, posting 31 goals and five assists across 39 matches in all competitions.
With the least amount of league appearances on the above list of Europe's superlative shooters in 2022/23, Osimhen ranked among the top 1% of forwards in Serie A that year for goals scored per 90, as per FBref, with his rate of 0.91 goals per game something that would catapult Chelsea back to form.
He could even prove to be Stamford Bridge's finest striker since the halcyon days of Didier Drogba, who is widely regarded as one of the Premier League's finest attacking players, with 20,000 Blues fans voting the Ivory Coast legend as their best-ever player
Admittedly, the competition is somewhat thin; Chelsea have been beset by something of a curse at No. 9 over the past decade, with the likes of Fernando Torres (£50m), Radamel Falcao, Alvaro Morata, Gonzalo Higuain, and Lukaku among the disappointing collection of high-profile strikers that have flattered to deceive.
Drogba endured no such problem, scoring 164 goals across 381 appearances and winning a wealth of silverware - including the Champions League and four Premier League trophies.
The £207k-per-week Osimhen, hailed for his "world-class" quality by none other than Jose Mourinho - architect of Drogba's success, by the way - could snap that curse and fire Chelsea back into the ascendancy. Boehly needs to get it done.