Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino would make Paris Saint-Germain’s Kylian Mbappe his “first choice” target to strengthen the forward line if the Frenchman were interested in a move to Stamford Bridge, according to the Daily Telegraph journalist Matt Law.
However, speaking on the London is Blue podcast, Law said that, while Mbappe would be Pochettino’s preferred option, Napoli’s Victor Osimhen is deemed the more realistic alternative:
“I’ve got a good source on it. Osimhen would be Pochettino’s first choice. Actually, Mbappe would be Pochettino’s first choice… he loves Mbappe… in fact, if you asked Pochettino who he would have in his team out of Mbappe and Harry Kane, he would go Mbappe. He absolutely loves Mbappe but let’s be real. So talking realistically, Osimhen is Pochettino’s first choice.”
“I don’t see it [in] January just because…I think that transfer in January is very difficult to do in terms of what you would have to pay both the club and him [Osimhen]. And also their [Napoli’s] reluctance to do it. In the summer, as long as he doesn’t go anywhere else, I could really see Osimhen at Chelsea.”
“At the moment [in January] convincing Osimhen to join Chelsea even might be tricky just because, in his eyes, he looks at the table, they [Chelsea] are a midtable club at the moment. We know they are not a midtable club, realistically, they are not a midtable team. If he’s looking at in January [though] they may be sat in midtable.”
Why can’t Chelsea sign Mbappe?
With the World Cup winner set to leave PSG on a free transfer at the end of the season, it does present the Blues with a big opportunity to secure the player’s signature. However, there are two big stumbling blocks that would stop a move from happening.
Real Madrid are red-hot favourites to snap up Mbappe, so it would take a major effort to persuade him into moving to any other club. Another issue, which is probably an even bigger hurdle, is Mbappe’s salary.
The Frenchman is currently earning a staggering £1.2m a week. Chelsea would have to smash their wage structure to secure his services.
They will also face challenges in signing Osimhen
If, as Law predicts, the Blues do focus their attention on the Napoli forward, they will face competition from the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and others to sign him.
They will also have to pay a sizeable transfer fee and agree to personal terms, which will still be substantial (albeit not as big as Mbappe’s).
