Chelsea have secret weapon in Osimhen deal with worrying £18.2m plan considered

Estevao Willian, Marc Guiu and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have been unveiled as the first signings under Enzo Maresca. The Blues are looking to hit the ground running under the former Leicester City manager and rise up the Premier League.

Since Todd Boehly’s consortium took over at Stamford Bridge, there has been free-spending but so far, there has been little success and very few moments to shout about for the West London club. Mauricio Pochettino led Chelsea back into Europe after their late season surge saw them qualify for the Europa Conference League.

Maresca’s appointment raised eyebrows, having joined from the Foxes who only earned promotion back to the Premier League a matter of months, with the beginning of pre-season on the horizon.

Victor Osimhen swap deal

According to TEAMtalk, Chelsea are willing to offer two players in a swap deal to end Victor Osimhen’s transfer saga with Napoli. The Nigerian opted to remain with the Serie A club after a superb season that saw them with the Scudetto for the first time in 33 years, however they failed to defend their title staggering to a 10th place finish.

Osimhen has been attracting interest from around Europe for a number of seasons with the Italian club said to be demanding that his release clause €130million (£110m) be triggered. The 25-year-old has reportedly been on Chelsea’s radar for months but it has been said that their interest has cooled after Napoli’s reluctance to lower the demands.

football.london says: Victor Osimhen is one of the most sought-after strikers in world football and for good reason. Chelsea have already spent a staggering amount on new signings since Boehly took over and within that, they have acquired some of the most eye-catching firepower in the process.

If the report is to be believed, adding two players as makeweights for Osimhen could be an option to avoid meeting the £110million asking price, while offloading some in bloated areas. Former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is the new manager at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium and is said to have Romelu Lukaku in his sights – the Belgian would be a credible option with Chelsea likely to struggle to part ways with the striker.

Marcus Rashford Chelsea move talked up

William Gallas believes Marcus Rashford could join Chelsea after reports that Manchester United are weighing up their options with the Englishman.

The 26-year-old endured a difficult season in the Premier League as he faced criticism from sections of the Old Trafford supporters and risked the wrath of Erik ten Hag. Speaking to Lord Ping, he said: “Marcus Rashford definitely needs to leave Manchester United. It looks like he’s had some issues with the manager and he’s now out of the England squad so I think it’s time for him to refresh his career.

“He has to play for the new club, he needs that new challenge. Could Marcus Rashford join Arsenal or Chelsea? Anything can happen in football. I don’t know if Chelsea can give him the opportunity to refresh himself, he has to think things through.

“But looking at his time in the Premier League, he has never scored 20 goals in a season, the best strikers have always done that…”

football.london says: While Marcus Rashford has been one of the most exciting players to play in the Premier League in recent years, a move for him is likely to be financially unfeasible from a Chelsea perspective. Already, the Blues have several high-earners on lucrative multi-year contracts and with Rashford earning a reported £350,000-a-week – some £18.2m per year – he would join the list.

Rashford’s quality is undoubted and in a good environment, he will thrive. But with the embarrassment of riches already at Maresca’s disposal, it would be unwise to splash out on the England international – and line the coffers of a rival.