‘I know what Chelsea offered Osimhen and how he feels about transfer talks’

Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel has revealed how the club narrowly missed out on snapping up Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen emerged as Chelsea‘s top target as the club looked for a new star striker to rival Nicolas Jackson. The 25-year-old helped fire Napoli to their sensational Serie A title in 2023 – but his time in Naples looked to be up this summer, with the Italian club ready to sell their prize asset. The writing was already on the wall for Osimhen before manager Antonio Conte chose to reunite with Chelsea flop Romelu Lukaku.

While this sparked interest from the Blues. the club were unable to agree on a deal to bring Osimhen to Stamford Bridge, with the Nigeria international later sealing a shock loan switch to Galatasaray after extending his Napoli contract. There were claims that the proposed move collapsed due to his wage demands – but Mikel was involved in the negotiations and has insisted that the striker came agonisingly close to signing for Chelsea.

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“I know what Victor wanted. I know what the club offered him,” Mikel told The Obi One podcast. “I know where we got to, we finally got to a compromise, both sides had to compromise.

“Paperwork, medical and just a few issues that we just couldn’t get over the line and then we didn’t have much time. The one time you want the seconds, minutes and hours to slow down a bit, it just didn’t work.

“I think both sides really, really played their part in terms of getting the deal done and I commend Chelsea for that, because I could see the ambition of where they want to take this club now,” the Chelsea icon added.

“On Victor’s side, I think if we have to pick this back up, whether it’s January or next summer, we know where we are. We know where we’ve stopped and it’s just little details that need to be finalised and the deal will be done. So, for me, the club is in a very happy place with Victor; Victor is in a very happy place with the club.”

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While he isn’t his agent, Mikel struck up a friendship with Osimhen after the striker received his first Nigeria cap in 2017. The Napoli forward had other offers on the table – namely from Al-Ahli, who ended up signing Ivan Toney – but wanted to remain in Europe. However, Mikel has argued that joining Galatasaray, instead of Chelsea, was not part of Osimhen’s plan.

“He was disappointed it didn’t happen,” Mikel said. about Osimhen’s proposed move to Chelsea “I spoke to him as soon as the transfer window shut, I gave him a call and we spent about 20 minutes talking.

“I told him listen, ‘I’m always here for you. Keep your head down, keep working hard, training. I know it’s not the best situation right now but you’re strong’.”