Chelsea now set sights on “monster” £85m Samu alternative instead of Felix

Chelsea’s plans for the summer transfer window were rocked on Sunday night as it was revealed that their deal to sign Samu Omorodion collapsed. Fabrizio Romano claims that their move for the Atletico Madrid centre-forward is “100% off” due to major issues with the player’s rights, and he has now returned to Spain and could move elsewhere before the deadline.

The Italian reporter then revealed that the Blues are exploring a swoop for Joao Felix, who was on loan with the club in the 2022/23 campaign, as an alternative to Omorodion, with talks ongoing between the two teams to ensure that Atletico can still sign Conor Gallagher.

Despite that, Felix may have to move aside if the Premier League giants can land their top target as Todd Boehly has set his sights on another number nine.

Chelsea eyeing Serie A marksman

According to El Chiringuito TV journalist Marcos Benito, Boehly’s ‘priority’ objective is to secure a deal for Napoli centre-forward Victor Osimhen. The reporter backs up that Chelsea’s move for Omorodion will not go through as planned and that the young attacker will now return to Madrid.

Benito does not mention anything about talks to sign Felix from Atletico as an alternative to the 20-year-old Spaniard, with Osimhen said to be the Premier League side’s number one target, having had his price tag slashed down to around £85m earlier this summer.

This could mean that the Blues are exploring transfers for both the Nigeria international and the former Barcelona forward, or they are looking at where they can get the best possible deal. It also remains to be seen whether they are keen on a permanent or loan approach for the Napoli star, as it had previously been reported that they were interested in an initial loan to bring him to Stamford Bridge.

Why Chelsea should sign Victor Osimhen

Unless they are insistent on signing Felix to ensure that the Gallagher deal goes through, if there is no other way to resolve that situation, Chelsea should move for Osimhen ahead of the Portugal international as a dream alternative to Omorodion.

The Nigerian marksman, who was described as an “aerial monster” by analyst Ben Mattinson, has been a lethal scorer in recent seasons, and the same cannot be said of the two Atletico forwards.

Osimhen was the only one of the trio to hit double figures at league level last term, with six more goals than Omorodion managed for Alaves on loan and eight more than Felix mustered for Barcelona on loan.

The 25-year-old finisher, who reportedly earns £211k-per-week, also plundered an outstanding 26 goals and four assists in 32 Serie A appearances as Napoli won the division in the 2022/23 campaign. Meanwhile, Felix, who is only one year younger than Osimhen, has only scored 32 goals in 126 La Liga appearances throughout his career for Atletico and Barcelona combined.

These statistics suggest that the Serie A marksman would be a far better alternative to Samu than the Portuguese dynamo would, which is why Boehly would be right to target him as a priority.