Napoli has told Chelsea that it’s willing to lower the asking price for Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen, according to reports in Italy.
The Serie A club has agreed to let Osimhen leave this summer but its president, Aurelio de Laurentiis, is holding out for a team to trigger the Nigeria international’s €130m (£110.8m) clause.
Chelsea, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have already registered their interest ahead of the summer window but so far no one has indicated that they are prepared to meet Napoli’s demand.
That has left the Italian side in a predicament as it’s relying on Osimhen’s transfer fee to help offset the summer spending, which includes a deal for Romelu Lukaku.
Antonio Conte has already received assurances that his other key players at Napoli, including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who impressed for Georgia at Euro 2024, Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Frank Anguissa and Stanislav Lobotka will not be sold.
Napoli has opened talks with Chelsea over a deal for Lukaku but the Premier League club is not open to another loan and had initially held out for a team to meet the Belgium international’s £38m release clause.
According to Corriere dello Sport, Lukaku wants to be reunited with Conte at Napoli and Chelsea would now be prepared to accept a lower fee for the 31-year-old in the region of €25m (£21.1mforor the deal to go through.
The report claimed that during their discussions, Napoli made it known that it would be open to reducing its valuation of Osimhen to €100m (£84.6m).
However, that figure is still regarded as too high by Chelsea, who had agreed a £42m fee with Aston Villa for their Colombian striker, Jhon Duran last month.